


A Perfect Date

by delighted



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Meet the Family, and a trip to the Shore, and lots of Jersey food, and some more stuff I'm not going to tag because spoilers, and there are a lot of stuffed animals for some reason, but it's probably my sweetest fluffiest family story ever, but mostly it's soft and fluffy, just be sure and read all the tags.....
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-07-24 15:08:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16177616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delighted/pseuds/delighted
Summary: Steve and Danny and the kids in Jersey. (Finally.)(Technically part two of“Perfectly Reasonable,”but this story absolutely stands on its own.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been brewing for almost exactly one year now. I’m not sure why it took that long to emerge, but once it signaled it was ready, in the ending of [“Perfectly Reasonable,”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16045649) it took over everything until it was done. (The process was fast and intense, is what I’m saying.) And I have some thank yous that feel very important before we begin....
> 
> Firstly, bswindle20, for reminding me regularly for a _year_ that I’d said I’d write a Jersey story. That had to have been annoying, to keep saying it for a whole freaking year. But I am so thankful that you did, and I hope you think it’s worth the wait....
> 
> Second, NatalieRyan has been my everything during this process. My anchor, my encouragement, my therapy, my spell check.... Thank you, dear one, for reading drafts, scolding me when I freaked out, boosting my spirits with pictures of pretty boys, and keeping my brain engaged and firing with endless ideas. Please don’t stop. <3
> 
> Thirdly, a good part of why this story finally took shape was because of comments ArwenOak has been seeding my mind with the past few months. They made fertile ground within which things started to grow, and I hope you enjoy the results.
> 
> Finally, thank you to all who commented on part one that you were excited for part two... your enthusiasm for Jersey was unexpected, and propelled me to let this be what it wanted to.... I hope you enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it!! 
> 
> (I feel like my Jersey knowledge is being put to the test with this.... I hope I pass....)
> 
> **The schedule:** This story is complete, 22k words, 9 chapters. **My original schedule changed, and I'm now aiming to have the whole thing posted by the 12th.**

“Again, babe, I am so sorry about this.” 

Danny flopped down on the bed, his displeasure with the situation radiating off him not in waves, but in sharp bursts—but Steve found it adorable, so he grinned, which in retrospect probably wasn’t the best move if he was interested in soothing his boyfriend’s crummy mood. The thing was, each little reaction Danny was having like this made Steve feel like he understood him better, like he was getting a behind the scenes tour of the character and motivation of Danny Williams. And he was loving it.

“Danny, stop apologizing. I told you, I love it.”

Danny grunted, and flopped harder, turning on his other side. “It’s just, and I swear it makes no sense, but there really are no decent hotels in Jersey. Trust me, this is better.”

“Danny. Stop. It’s great. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

For one thing, he loved seeing the posters in this room Danny had shared for so many years with Matt. The Springsteen poster hadn’t been a surprise. The Bon Jovi one maybe had, though Danny swore it was Matt’s. And the baseball-themed wallpaper made him smile, thinking he should bring Danny sometime when the Mets were in town and he could take him to a double header. But it was the row of teddy bears on Danny’s bed—not Matt’s, Danny’s—that had been what had really done Steve’s heart in. Even now, hours later, his feet dangling off the twin extra long mattress, his heart went out to his partner, who was clearly struggling to get comfortable in his tiny bed.

“Maybe if you cuddled one of the bears,” Steve suggested, not for the first time. That hadn’t gone too well the first time, and it went even less well this time. (He ended up with one of the bears thrown in his face, is the point.) “What’s this one called?” He asked, genuinely curious. All he got in return was another huff of discomfort.

“How did I ever sleep on this mattress? It’s hard as a fucking rock.”

“You know what was really cute?”  _Maybe distraction would help_....

Danny grunted.

“What was really cute was watching your mom get the kids settled in the girls’ room. She loves having them here, Danny. We should plan to come more often.”

And, he meant it genuinely. Maybe his heart was especially soft when it came to female relatives, okay? But Steve couldn’t help but be fond of Danny’s mom—and not just because she’d produced such a wonderful son. She clearly loved having Grace back in Jersey. And, okay. Her warm welcome of Steve might have played into his fondness as well. Just a little.  _I’m so glad Danny finally figured it out_. He’d thought he would cry on the spot when she’d whispered those words in his ear as she’d hugged him so tight for so long, and he’d been very much in danger of melting and asking if she’d be his mom too. What was it about hugs from moms that made him feel 15 again....

Saying they should come to Jersey more had evidently been the right thing to say, because he was drawn out of his thoughts by something substantially larger (and heavier) than a teddy bear, climbing on top of him and pressing wet kisses all over him.

“Danny, it’s a twin bed, buddy, I don’t think we can both fit....”

“ _Watch me_.”

And it’s not like Steve didn’t know full well that it is completely possible for two grown men to perform more than adequately in a (not even extra long) twin bed.... But Grace and Charlie were a very thin wall’s depth away, and Danny’s folks were across the hall through two not-at-all-solid doors.... But Danny was clearly not going to take “no” for an answer.

Besides. Who was Steve to deny the man he loved what he so clearly needed?

When they finished what was definitely the quietest sex they’d ever had, Danny seemed even more turned on. “That was seriously impressive, babe.” He settled at Steve’s side, and Steve supposed he was going to have to resign himself to sleeping pressed firmly against the wall. Still. He didn’t really mind, if it meant getting to hold Danny close. “Although, I guess they train you for that at SEAL school, huh?”

Steve’s only response was to bite Danny’s ear. “Sleep, please. Grace had an awfully long list of things she wanted to do tomorrow....” 

Danny huffed in frustration again, but Steve held him tight, and not for the first time found that Danny seemed to settle more readily when he was slightly confined. Which, considering his claustrophobia, was mildly intriguing. It helped Steve settle as well, and it wasn’t too much longer before he followed Danny off to sleep, but when Steve woke in the morning he found that Danny had moved back to his bed at some point in the night. Although that had clearly been wise of him, as not many moments after Steve’s body had registered the loss of warmth, the door opened without so much as a knock, and Charlie came rushing in, and jumped onto Danny’s bed.

“Danno, get up, there’s pancakes!”

“Unngh,” Danny grunted, as Charlie landed probably somewhere in the vicinity of his bladder. “Easy there keiki. Is there coffee?”

“I don’t know. Should I go ask?”

Steve grinned and sat up. “I’ll come with you, Charlie. I think Danno needs some coffee before he’ll get out of bed, what do you say?”

“Good idea, Uncle Steve.” Charlie jumped off the bed and ran towards the door.

Stopping to kiss Danny on the head, Steve was rewarded with a hand on his arm, and a gruffly whispered “God, I love you” that made him smile and did funny things to his heart.

When Steve got to the door, Charlie took his hand, saying “Come on, I’ll show you where the kitchen is,” as though it was hard to find, and not right off the front entry.

It was a small house. Just the three bedrooms, plus a sizable basement family room, and sun porch off the dining room which in turn opened up to a living room that looked like it only got used at Christmas and Easter. But the kitchen was spacious and warm, and maybe a little dated, but clearly the heart of the home—and that, Steve felt, made Danny make so much more sense. 

He and Charlie walked into the kitchen, where they were greeted by a cheerful “Good morning!” and the smell of coffee, pancakes, and something else Steve didn’t recognize, but was clearly meat of some sort. Danny’s mom paused her cooking long enough to give Steve a kiss on the cheek as though she’d done it a hundred times before. “Coffee?” She asked before returning to her own coffee, flipping a pancake neatly, and giving the meat a careful prod. 

“I think I’d better take some up to Danny,” he said, and he hadn’t thought he’d let any _it’s going to be one of those mornings_ intonation into his voice, so maybe it was just that she knew what Danny could be like in the mornings, because he was pretty sure her smile grew when he said it.

“Mugs are in the cupboard over the coffeemaker,” she said brightly, then turned to her grandson. “Now for some juice, would you like cranberry or orange?”

“Orange, please,” Charlie replied, climbing onto a chair at the table.

Steve ruffled Charlie’s hair fondly as he grabbed two mugs and filled them both a little too full. “We'll be down in a bit, save some pancakes for me, huh buddy?”

“If you’re good,” Charlie replied, mimicking his dad’s tone a little too well. 

Clara, from whom Danny had no doubt gotten the tone in the first place, laughed.

On his way back to Danny’s room, Steve ran into Grace in the hall. She was just leaving the bathroom and her hair was still wet, her eyes were bright, and completely unlike her dad, she did not look at all like jetlag was going to be a problem for her.

“Oh, good idea,” she said approvingly, nodding at the coffee mugs. “Danno doesn’t do the first day of this trip very well,” she confided. “He’ll adjust to the time change pretty quickly, but he’s usually a grump for the first day.”

Steve chuckled. “Thanks for the warning, kiddo,” he replied in a stage whisper as he pushed the door, which he’d left part way open, with his foot. 

And sure enough, Danny’d fallen back asleep. But when the mattress dipped with Steve’s weight, Danny’s eyes fluttered open. “Gimme,” he said, raising himself up on two arms, then grabbing for the coffee.

They sat there, sipping slightly burnt coffee, touching just enough to share the warmth of their bodies, and Steve couldn’t help but think this was something he could really get used to. It reminded him of those precious few days he’d had Deb and Mary and Joanie at his place. Maybe some flash of sadness passed through his eyes at the memory, because even in his half-asleep, jet-lagged state, Danny didn’t miss it.

“It’s nice to have everyone under one roof, isn’t it.”

“Yeah, buddy, it is.”

It didn’t take too long before Danny had enough caffeine in him to be motivated to go downstairs for food. It seemed he was especially excited for that meat, which it turned out, was some spam-like thing that he insisted was not spam.

“It doesn’t come in a can, Steven,” he pointed out, when Steve made a comment about processed meat product not being his favorite food item.

“The vessel isn’t important, Danny, it’s the ingredients.”

“We don’t talk about the ingredients, babe. We just eat it.”

“I like it,” Charlie offered helpfully, his mouth full of the stuff that was evidently called Taylor Ham, or Pork Roll—Steve still wasn’t sure which, the whole conversation had been frankly confusing. But it was evidently a Jersey classic, and he was feeling pressure to make the most of the Full Jersey Experience.

Taking one look at Grace, who steadfastly refused to let the substance pass her lips, Steve closed his eyes and took a bite.

“Actually, that’s not half bad,” he finally admitted. “Still, I know what it is....”

“Just try not to think about that,” Danny chuckled. “Try not to think about a lot of stuff here, babe. It’s the only way.”

He wanted to point out the irony of Danny, of all people, counseling  _not_ -thinking, but decided against it.  

“Tomorrow we’ll have a bagel party,” Clara offered, probably in an attempt to change the subject. “You can start to get to know the family,” she smiled at Steve. “Just the old folks to start, we’ll ease you into it. Then dinner one night later in the week, with the larger group. If you think you can handle the whole Williams gang.” 

Meeting Danny’s eyes over his coffee mug, Steve grinned. “Sounds perfect.”

After breakfast they headed out to the neighborhood park. 

“It’ll be baked ziti, you know.”

“Huh?”

“Family dinner. It’s always baked ziti.”

“Danny, I have no idea what that is. How come you never make it?”

“Because it’s _baked ziti_ , babe. No one makes it. Except in Jersey. For every single family event ever. Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July. Always baked ziti.”

Steve had a sense that Danny was exaggerating that just a little bit, but still it made him smile. “Then I can’t wait to try it.”

“Oh, like you couldn’t wait to try Taylor Ham, babe?”

“Well, I’m guessing baked ziti is actual food....”

“Honestly, that’s debatable.”

They were sitting on a slightly damp park bench, watching Charlie play on a playground that looked like it hadn’t been updated since Danny’d played on it as a kid. Grace was on her phone, but sitting on a swing, so it was marginally like they were having outside time. Danny’d given in to one of Grace’s shopping demands, but only on the stipulation they spend some time outside before and after so Charlie didn’t go bonkers. Indoor malls were never going to be one of Steve’s favorite things, but if he was honest, there was a part of him that looked forward to watching Grace go after whatever it was she wanted to get in what Danny had said was basically The Mall of Malls.

“We should talk about... you know. Before the family starts flooding in....”

Steve smiled, indulgently, probably. He’d told Danny already more times than he could count that he was fine pretending to simply be a friend-and-work-partner. Or to just say “partner” and leave it at that. But Danny’d been making himself crazy debating the issue. 

The immediate family already knew, of course. Bridget had taken to calling Steve regularly, after Danny’d told her, and Eric’s mom Stella identified as bi, though evidently that wasn’t known throughout the entire family. Bridget held more to the idea that labels were limiting and said none of it was anyone’s business and if anyone had a problem they could talk to her fist. Steve, obviously, liked her. 

But Danny worried about some of the more distant relatives, and Steve respected Danny’s worries. He’d taken what he hoped was a balanced stance in regards to Danny’s worries in general, since they’d admitted this was more than just sex and friendship between them. He wasn’t going to tell Danny his worries were wrong, or try to convince him not to worry. But, if he was going to share his bed, he was going to share his worries as well. Danny’d kissed him for a solid ten minutes after he’d said that, then given him the most fantastic blow job. 

“Maybe we just play it by ear, buddy. And you don’t have to tell everyone, you know.”

“Yeah,” Danny sighed. “Maybe you’re right.”

Perhaps sensing the slight resolve in the conversation, or maybe just running out of her own patience, Grace stood then and said: “Can we  _please_  go to the mall now?”

And they laughed, and the conversation was forgotten... for the time being.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny took them on what he called the scenic route, down surprisingly wooded back roads, through old neighborhoods with huge historic homes on soft rolling hills. Steve hadn’t really known what to expect of New Jersey, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t this.

When they pulled into a parking spot not too far from a mall entrance, Danny laid down some rules. Only one hour and a half, a spending limit, and he was starting to say something about regulations over purchases when Steve caught Grace giving him a pleading look.

“Hey, buddy. How about you take Charlie to that toy store you were telling me about, and I’ll go with Gracie and make sure she’s okay.”

And alright, maybe Steve didn’t exactly have the most stellar track record when it came to shopping with teenage girls, but he liked to think he’d grown in understanding since then. He gave Danny what he hoped was a  _please let us have some bonding time_  look and not a  _stop being a grumpy old man_  look. 

He must have succeeded in communicating one of those, because Danny sighed, smiled, and said “Yeah, okay, you’re right.”

Turned out Grace was mostly interested in taking selfies at what seemed to be pre-determined places in the mall. She also wanted to get one of those crazy coffee drinks and take fourteen different angled photos of it. 

After that she loosened up a bit, and Steve felt she turned more back into the little girl he’d known so well. They’d drifted apart a bit the past couple of years, and now that he and her dad were together, he wanted very much to change that. 

They started going into stores that had them saying “No, really, how is that a thing?” and taking selfies with silly products and bizarrely posed mannequins. They bought each other gag gifts, and a couple silly things for the boys, and by the time Steve’s alarm went off for them to meet Danny back at the entrance, they were walking arm-in-arm and smiling happily.

“Looks like you enjoyed your mall time, Steven,” Danny grinned at him as they approached, both he and Charlie looking like they’d been done, in more ways than one, for a while. “Charlie needs food,” Danny explained, nodding in his direction. “Fortunately we are right near my favorite diner, so that’s another Jersey thing off the list.”

The Ritz Diner really was kind of adorable. There was a counter right at the kitchen, just like you’d imagine, with three old men perched on the swiveling stools. There was a pastry case loaded with all sorts of presumably Jersey-specific baked goods, including what Danny said had been his grandmother’s favorite cookies. The menu was...  _daunting_. But Danny and Grace had a fairly standard order, as well as a few things they insisted Steve simply had to try, and so Steve and Charlie just sat back and let them take over, and they all shared several things. 

They had potato pancakes, the infamous disco fries, Matzoh ball soup, an open-faced turkey sandwich with gravy, a sandwich that had corned beef and pastrami with coleslaw, and a German apple-cinnamon pancake that even Steve, who wasn’t crazy for sweet things, enjoyed. Mostly, it was the—yes, Danny had a point— _experience_  of it. The atmosphere of bustling waitresses, regular customers with regular tables and standing orders, the constant flow of coffee, the low hum of chatter in a place where people are accustomed to being crowded and close together all the time.  

After they were more than full, it was back to the park so Charlie could run around and burn off some energy before they headed back to the house, and it was possibly the jetlag speaking, but Steve really hoped they could grab a quick nap. 

Maybe he just needed more contact with Danny. The past couple months he’d gotten seriously accustomed to pretty consistently high levels of close Danny contact, and partly it was being in public, partly it was being around family, but he was getting substantially less than he was used to on this trip so far, and he could already feel it affecting him in ways he didn’t entirely understand. 

When they got back to the house however, there were some unexpected visitors. A couple in Clara’s branch of the extended-family, who were not going to be able to make ziti night later in the week as they were on their way out of town, but hadn’t wanted to miss the opportunity to see Danny and the kids. In the chaos of everything, needing to get Charlie cleaned up and unload their shopping and all, Steve managed to escape introductions, and it wasn’t till too late that anyone realized that might be a problem. 

He was sitting out back with Danny’s dad, helping him fill a cooler with ice, beer, sodas, and those bottled mixed drink things when Grace came out to talk to them. 

“Um. You should know....” She looked incredibly hesitant, and dread filled Steve’s stomach. “Lois just asked Charlie who the handsome man out with grandpa was, and Charlie told her Uncle Steve is Danno’s boyfriend....”

Steve took a calming breath. “Danny okay?” He asked.

“I’m not sure. It’s a little... weird in there.”

“Thanks, Gracie honey,” Danny’s dad replied, watching Steve warily.

“Should I...?” Steve moved to stand, but Eddie put out a hand to still him. 

“Let Clara deal with it, son.”

Steve, feeling a little lost, found himself looking to Grace for confirmation. She nodded. “Danno and grandma can handle it, let’s just stay out here....” And, as if she sensed his need, she wrapped herself almost protectively around him, settling herself in his lap, and making a grab for a soda as if it were something stronger that might fortify her.

“Thanks, Grace,” he whispered, holding her close. 

It felt like forever, but was probably more like fifteen minutes before Danny came out, letting the screen door slam behind him.

“Well, it’s nice to know we’re living in a civilized age of open minded people who can put their bullshit fears behind them and move onwards to reality.”

“Didn’t go so well, huh?”

“You might say that.” Danny reached in the cooler and pulled out a beer. He drank half of it in one go, then put a hand on Grace’s head. “Thanks, monkey.” He said on a resigned sigh. 

“What for?” She looked up at him, and Steve thought she might get up, but he wasn’t ready to let her go—maybe because he kind of wanted her between him and Danny at the moment, as it was taking everything he had to not get up and kiss the hurt and frustration out of his lover’s tense body. So he held on tighter, and she settled back, letting her hand rest reassuringly on his arm.

“For keeping him out of it,” Danny moved his hand to Steve’s shoulder, giving a squeeze, then dropping it. 

“Grandpa did too,” Grace insisted.

Danny met his dad’s eyes with gratitude. “Thank you.” 

“Well, that was fun,” Clara said as she and Charlie joined the others outside.

“Danno, I’m sorry,” Charlie said, wrapping his arm around Danny’s side.

“Hey, keiki, you were the best, buddy.”

Clara was smiling, and pulled a soda out of the cooler and opened it for Charlie. “You really were, sweetie,” she said, turning back for a bottle of one of the fruit flavored cocktail things, and drinking half in one go. Like mother like son, Steve found himself thinking, warmly.

“I don’t understand why they got upset because Danno has a boyfriend,” Charlie said, looking into his soda as though it might explain adults to him. “Shouldn’t they be happy he has someone to love him?”

“Exactly,” sighed Clara, ruffling Charlie’s hair. “I did convince them it wasn’t their news to tell, and they won’t be in contact with anyone other than their daughter while they’re out of town, so it’s up to you, Danny, how you deal with the others.” She sat down next to her husband, letting him pull her into a hug. “Everyone who’s coming in the morning will at least be civilized, so you have some time to think about it.” 

Danny grunted noncommittally, and Steve’s need to  _touch_  grew even stronger. 

Maybe Eddie picked up on that, or maybe his own need to be practical was kicking in, but he stood, with a resolute slap on his knee. “Well, I think we should go order some pizza for dinner, what do you think, Charlie?”

“Great idea, grandpa,” Charlie looked relieved to have a task as well, and they walked hand in hand back up to the house.

“They’ll come around,” Clara said, gesturing for Danny to sit next to her, and holding him close and kissing him on the head when he did. “They just need time to get their heads on right. And... I’m not going to tell you what to do, but if I know Lois like I think I do, the reactions of the others will impact her more than anything either of us could say....”

Danny nodded, but Steve wasn’t entirely sure he was processing her words so much as her motherly touches. Steve felt like he was twitching with the need to comfort Danny, to reassure him, to help him through this. He didn’t give a rat’s ass what some strangers thought about him and his love life, but they were Danny’s family, and he knew it stung. 

Blessedly, Grace is her father’s daughter. She is insightful and aware, almost on a magical level, of other people—especially those she loves. So Steve wasn’t really surprised when she sensed his need to have some time and closeness with Danny. She clearly picked up on something from her dad as well. 

“Grandma,” she said, climbing carefully down from Steve’s lap, but keeping a hand on his arm. “I think we should go make a salad, and maybe see about dessert....” And Steve had a feeling she knew chocolate was going to be necessary.

Clara looked at Steve, then pulled away from her son and looked into his eyes. She nodded. “I think I have stuff to make cookies.” And they disappeared into the house, leaving Steve _finally_ alone with Danny.  

“Charlie was more than great, babe. You shoulda heard him.” He sighed. “He really loves you. Couldn’t stop talking about how great you are... and how much you love me.” He stopped to swallow, and Steve almost thought tears were welling in those pale blue eyes he loved so much. “I mean, I get it, you prove it all the time, and I  _know_  you’d do anything for me, but to listen to Charlie talk about us... god it sounded like the plot of a movie.” He laughed, and it was jagged and raw, but there was a joy there, so deep and real, Steve felt more comforted than he could have imagined. “I actually think Charlie could have worn them down if they hadn’t felt like they needed to leave... which was probably my fault. I might have gotten a little... edgy.”

Steve got up then, grabbed two more beers from the cooler, and settled in his rightful place, at Danny’s side. “You? Edgy? Nah, can’t picture it.” He kissed Danny’s cheek and opened their beers. 

It wasn’t their chairs on the beach, and the beers were Jersey beer. And the air was cool and dry, not humid and hot, and the leaves were yellow and thinning, rather than lush and green. The darkening sky had the orange glow of city lights and not the moonlit blue of Hawaii.... But they were side by side, and that made the rest seem like it belonged.

Danny curled in at Steve’s side, letting him take his weight in several meanings of the phrase. They sat like that for a while, sipping beer that wasn’t awful, breathing chilly fall air, and just _being_ in that space of togetherness, letting it soothe the bumps and bruises of life together as a couple. 

“Hey you love birds, pizza’s here,” Clara hollered from the porch, just as they’d finished their beers. When she turned to go back inside, Danny looked earnestly at Steve.

“I still don’t know what I want to do,” he whispered tentatively, as though he were afraid of Steve’s reaction. 

“I know,” Steve said, smiling. “And that’s okay.”

Danny kissed him, long and soft and insistent, then pulled himself up, offered his hand to Steve. “Grab three beers, I’ll get sodas for the kids and one of those awful fruit things for mom.”

They ate in the family room, pizzas in huge boxes taking up most of the room on the large coffee table, salad and three kinds of dressing sitting on a side table, beers and sodas perched precariously on top of magazines on the floor at their sides. The pizza was Danny’s version of perfection, and—as his dad had no doubt known—was the perfect food to soothe his soul. Soon they were relaxing and starting to enjoy themselves.

Once they’d settled in, Eddie switched on the TV and pressed play, and a grainy, yellowed baseball game lit up the screen. It didn’t take Steve long to work out what it was, and sure enough, the first throw to first base, and Steve swore he’d recognize that stance anywhere. 

“Uncle Steve, look, it’s Danno playing baseball! He’s really good. I’m gonna play like him someday.”  

The video panned to Clara and the girls cheering, Matt looking intense over his scorecard, no doubt keeping the stats Danny would have insisted on, then back to a smiling Danny getting a high five from a teammate. 

“I bet you will, buddy,” Steve grinned back at him, and if he let himself imagine that, imagine them, as a family, at one of Charlie’s games someday, well, maybe he was just getting soft and sentimental in his old age. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter three on Sunday.....)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (So, part of why I'd decided to do every-other-day was because I wasn't going to be able to post today, but those plans changed to tomorrow, so I'm posting chapter three today instead.)
> 
> Just in case you missed it, there was a news story recently about bagels. Because we are a nation divided about many things. Evidently bagel toppings is one of them.

The morning started off in a swirl of wild chaos (though Steve sensed he was the only one who felt like it  _was_  chaos) with preparations for the bagel party, which it turned out was just exactly what it sounded like: Lots of bagels in all sorts of flavors most of which Steve had never heard of before, and more toppings and fillings than Steve had known could possibly go on a bagel. Top it off with two boisterous car-fulls of the oldest of the extended family—great aunts and uncles, and people called aunt and uncle who were only vaguely related to Danny, though they rattled off complicated explanations with practiced ease. Steve, who had never had even half this much family, simply couldn’t keep up. It was no wonder he felt overwhelmed. 

Bickering (not to mention loud, forceful voices) seemed to be a trait shared by the broader Williams clan, and when one of the older men—Uncle Albert, Steve thought—made a show of wanting to try “the bagel combination that lost that sexy redhead the election,” things got a little...  _heated_. 

Evidently there were some things you just didn’t mess with, and a man’s theory on what constituted a good bagel was clearly one of them. And Steve tried to follow the conversation, honestly he did, but while Danny dove right in at the deep end—never himself being short of aggressive opinions about food—soon Steve was not only lost, but feeling a little adrift. 

They’d agreed that morning that since yesterday hadn’t gone very well in the talking-with-relatives-about-our-relationship category, they’d play it mellow today and introduce Steve as Danny’s partner from Five-0 in Hawaii, and leave it at that, hopefully avoiding details or explanations. Clara had said they were for the most part a laid-back group who tended to stick to their usual topics, bicker along fairly established lines, and generally were a mild if vocal, genial, friendly bunch. She was clearly fond of them, and it seemed the bagel party was a fairly regular occurrence. 

And Steve was fine with being vague. Really, he was. It was more important to him for Danny to have time with his relatives who he likely wouldn’t see too many more times, than for them to be completely transparent about the true nature of their relationship. 

Problem was, Steve had to keep telling himself that it didn’t matter, that it was the right thing to do. And frankly, he was doing a really shitty job of convincing himself. 

So when the bagel debate got a little  _too_  intense for Steve (especially considering the debate he was waging inside his own head), he gave up on both arguments and retreated into the sanctity of the living room hoping for some calm. He was distracted enough that he didn’t notice the room was already occupied.

“Had enough of the yelling?” An amused voice asked when he sighed heavily in relief at the silence. 

“Heh,” Steve rubbed a hand over his face, trying to force himself to focus enough to be polite. “I’m sorry,” he said, as he walked over to the sofa where a white haired, sharp eyed woman was seated. “I’m having a hard time keeping everyone straight, you’ll have to remind me how you’re related to Danny?”

“Oh, honey,” she replied on a laugh. “Don’t bother trying to get  _me_  straight, that’s a losing battle.” And she grinned at him as his mouth fell open. 

“How did you...?” He didn’t know what exactly he was asking, to be honest. She, evidently, did.

“I know what people in love look like, my dear. Maybe especially people who think they’re trying to hide it.”

“We’re not hiding it,” Steve started, feeling a touch defensive probably. “Just being... subtle....” 

She smiled and patted the spot next to her on the sofa, and for a moment he thought about retreating, but it seemed to him she wasn’t someone you said “no” to. Once he was settled next to her, he breathed in the soft scent of roses, and it helped him to relax... as did something about her general demeanor.

“I’m the last person to judge you, my dear. In my day, the rule was double dating. Just as long as no one figured out who was really with whom.”

He smirked sympathetically. “Did you ever....” Again, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was asking. 

“Fall in love?” She smiled. “Yep. Forty years I had with Mabel. Forty glorious, happy years.”

He wasn’t really sure how to ask, but he needed to know—and he took a breath to say something. But nothing came out other than an awkward sound. Seriously, what was his problem today? He felt only nominally functional, almost like he’d lost all his bearings. 

“ _How_ , you’re wondering?” Her blue eyes twinkled, and for a second they reminded him of Danny’s. “Honestly, it wasn’t hard.” Her grin was droll and playful, and that reminded Steve of Danny as well. “People don’t tend to look very closely at two spinsters who decide to be practical and prudent about expenses by sharing a home.” She paused, maybe a little lost in a memory, but then the grin returned, and when she met his eyes, the twinkle had intensified. “Certainly they never dream we might have a better sex life than any of them....”

And that, as it no doubt was aimed to do, had Steve smiling. And maybe blushing a little as well. 

“The only thing I regret,” she said after a little sigh. “Is not putting a ring on her finger. Even if was just for us. She didn’t think it mattered, didn’t care about any of that sappy stuff. But I think that I did, I just didn’t want to admit it.”

“I don’t—” Steve started but she held up a hand to stop him.

“I’m not telling you this to guilt you or to pressure you, certainly not over a ring. You’ve both got more than enough pressure and guilt to be getting on with, without a lonely old woman heckling you.”

Steve nodded grimly. “You’re just wondering why we haven’t told.”

“Like I said, dear heart, it’s none of my business.”

But somehow it felt to Steve as though it was. Or maybe he was just really glad to have someone to talk to... someone who got it. He sighed. “I feel like it’s Danny’s choice to make, you know? I don’t have any family left, but he has more relatives than I can wrap my head around, and they mean a lot to him, even if he sometimes pretends they don’t. I... I can’t make those kinds of choices for him.”

“Of course not, dear. I understand.” And it wasn’t her tone that said otherwise. It was Steve’s own heart. 

He took a deep breath. Was he really going to confess this to a virtual stranger? What he hadn’t been able to confess to Danny—what he’d barely started to admit to himself? He felt, on the one hand, horrible for wanting to, felt like he was betraying Danny. And yet, Steve felt a connection with this woman. Maybe it was some genetic link, some similarity, some vital essence that she and Danny shared. He just felt he could trust her. And more to the point, he really wanted some advice. It wasn’t a feeling Steve was used to, but it was becoming overwhelming. So, he took another deep breath, and hesitatingly began: “ _But_....”

“Ah.” She looked pleased. “I wondered if there was a but.”

Steve chuckled softly. She really did remind him of Danny. “I just can’t help but feel like I’m failing him, you know? Like I’m doing the wrong thing, by not making it totally clear to everyone who he loves that I... I’d die for him.”

Even he felt the words were a little strong, once he’d said it. Thing was, it really was how he felt, and not saying it clearly wasn’t doing him any favors. She smiled indulgently, but she didn’t dismiss him, and that meant a lot. 

“That’s very noble of course. But... maybe it doesn’t have to be quite so dramatic?”

And for the first time since his stomach twisted when Grace had told them what’d happened, he felt a flicker of hope. Maybe there a way of doing this that was somewhere in between a big dramatic gesture and blatantly obfuscating. Steve would not want to be the first to admit it, but he did know he tended to be an all-or-nothing-kind of guy. _As long as you’re doing it, do it big_.... But maybe, in this case, that wasn’t the best approach. Maybe there was a path forward somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. He smiled at his companion, and was about to say more, when they were interrupted.

The great bagel battle had evidently either broken up or been disbanded, and Danny emerged from the kitchen, two mugs of coffee in his hands. 

“Hey, Florence,” he called warmly, walking over to the sofa and sitting easily at Steve’s side, handing him one of the mugs, sipping carefully from the other.

“I was just getting to know your young man here,” she said, and maybe Steve was reading too much into it, but her tone felt a little pointed. “He’s very fond of you, Daniel.”

Steve felt Danny sigh, and his stomach re-clenched just a little.

“The feeling is mutual,” Danny replied softly.

“I know, honey.” She reached around Steve to pat Danny on the knee. “Just don’t be afraid to let it show. No one here is going to freak out. They save that for bagel toppings. And pizza toppings—don’t get them started on pineapple on pizza.”

Steve outright laughed at that, partly because it broke the tension, and partly because it was simply the most perfect thing she could have said. “Why is everyone so against pineapple on pizza?”

Florence grinned, and this time Steve was sure her blue eyes sparkled. “I don’t know, but I always order it because it is so much fun to get them riled up.”

“I see you two are getting along just fine,” Danny huffed. But he also settled more comfortably against Steve’s side—and it wasn’t as much as he would have done at home, but it was a lot better than he’d been doing so far on the trip. And for now that was enough. When Steve lifted his arm to wrap around the back of the sofa, he saw Florence out of the corner of his eye, grinning proudly.

And she was right. No one, in fact, so much as blinked. No one stared, no one asked uncomfortable questions. Everyone was fully engaged in the conversation, far more interested in voicing their opinions on whatever the mundane topic of conversation, than in being nosy about anyone’s love life. And partly that was because she’d also been right about the popularity of pizza toppings as a debate topic. She brought it up not long after the others had joined them in the living room, and maybe she was intentionally playing interference, maybe she really did like to stir things up, but it held their interest until someone brought up the Jets, and everyone groaned, and then fell into what was evidently a well hashed and very jaded conversation about their much maligned New Jersey football team. Fortunately, it was a topic with which Steve was very familiar, having played the sport himself, and more importantly, having watched more than his fair share of Jets games with Danny. 

With that _in_ , and with Danny next to him—anchoring him, and okay, soothing him—he felt a lot less lost-at-sea in the Williams family chaos and bickering. He could almost see growing fond of it.

When they got up to say their goodbyes, and maybe he just wasn’t accustomed to proper family goodbyes (certainly Danny would have something to say about that), but Steve felt very much that they were not somehow befitting a mere “friend.” They seemed to him far more intimate than that. He got double-cheek kisses as well as genuine hugs from all the women, and warm handshakes from the men (though he supposed the football alone might have explained that). 

But then he got a pinch on the butt from Uncle Albert. And it startled him, but when it was followed by a wink and a whispered “Take good care of our Danny, young man. He deserves it,” he understood. 

Steve had to swallow before he could reply, “Yes sir, he absolutely does.” 

“Good man,” Albert replied, hand on Steve’s shoulder, squeezing once, then letting go.

When everyone had gone, Danny turned to Steve and noticed the tears clinging to the edges of his eyes. He looked questioningly at him, but Steve shook his head to indicate he’d tell him later, and they went to help clean up. 

Once they finished putting the leftovers away and loading the dishwasher, they settled around the kitchen table with more coffee. Clara suggested the boys take some time for themselves, that she and Eddie really wanted to take the kids to the zoo, if that was alright?

“Only one stuffed animal each, please, ma.” Danny warned, and Steve sensed a story there. 

“Sure thing, sweetie,” she replied, tone sounding falsely agreeing, and unless Steve was very much mistaken, slightly devious. She also seemed keen not to waste any time. “Alright kids, off you go, get washed up and ready for the zoo!” 

Clara then stood, turned to Danny, and with a hand on his head, messed his hair lovingly, which earned her a groan from her son that was almost teenager-like. 

“Take all the time you need,” she said, gently. “I’ll feed the kids, and we can do family dinner with the girls another night. You boys should do something for yourselves, have a nice night out.”

Danny tried, somewhat feebly to protest, but she ignored him, her eyes meeting Steve’s, and knowing he was grateful for the offer. He mouthed  _thank you_ , and it earned him a big smile and a blown kiss. 

When she left the room to get ready for the zoo, Danny gave him a real kiss, heavy with meaning, but also a bit distracted. “Come on, there’s somewhere we need to go.”

Curious, but mostly relieved to be getting some time alone with Danny, Steve followed him unquestioningly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter four on Monday)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my plans for the weekend got changed again, so, here-- have chapter four. 
> 
> (Slight tissue warning on this one....)

They started at the local liquor store. Danny went first for the beer, and in addition to more of the one they’d been drinking the night before, he got a six pack of a beer Steve had never seen him drink. It was a dark beer, which Steve thought he knew Danny didn’t like. But when he looked at him, eyebrows up, curious, Danny just shook his head, and Steve let it drop. Which wasn’t very hard to do, as frankly they were soon distracted by the vast contents of the store.

Danny said he wanted to get some wine, which his mom didn’t usually keep on hand, so they got some of their favorite wines that were harder to find on the island. And they got a little bit lost in “oh, remember this one?” And “gosh, I haven’t seen this wine in forever....”

Steve had been in state licensed liquor stores before, though not ever one quite like this. It was tiny, as he was finding many places in Jersey were, but it was as though someone had walked in and dared the proprietor to stock as many different things as he possibly could. At the register, there were baskets of the mini bottles of hard alcohol, and Danny grabbed several Steve didn’t recognize. 

Tossing the bags in the back, Danny seemed a little grim, and Steve started to say something, but sensed a building mood, and maybe he suspected where they were heading, so he let it drop. He was certain he was right long before Danny took the turn into the wide, sweeping, treed expanse of the cemetery. Following the twisting drive a long way back, Danny’s mood darkened further, and Steve felt himself slide along with him. 

When they pulled over and Danny grabbed the six pack, Steve understood. It wasn’t beer Danny drank. But not because he didn’t like it. 

Because it’d been Matty’s favorite. 

They walked for a while, and Steve realized Danny had ritualized his approach, maybe from some happenstance the day of the funeral, or maybe some other later reason, but eventually they arrived, and Danny stood, shifting from foot to foot for a bit, till Steve took the beers from him, took one for himself, held one out to Danny, and set the others in a row at the top of Matt’s simple stone.  _Beloved Son, Brother, and Uncle_ , it read in plain block letters. With a date span horribly short. Danny twisted off the top of his beer, clinked it with Steve’s, and held it out to the grave. 

“Alright, you bastard. You were right.”

And he drank. Not half the bottle like he’d done the night before, just a gulp. Then he looked at Steve, who was having a hard time breathing for some reason.

He opened his beer and took a sip. “Right about what?”

“You.”

And Danny sat, brushing some leaves off the stone, leaving a hand on it, and sighing.

“....What about me?” Steve sat carefully next to Danny. Close, but not touching.

Danny huffed a bitter laugh and set his beer down in the grass. “Matt tried to tell me. While he was in the midst of fucking his life up and making stupid choices, he tried to tell me I was in love with you.”

Steve nearly fell over, and he was glad he was already sitting. He took too big a drink of his beer, and nearly choked on it. 

“Danny, that was...  _ages_  ago.”

“Yeah,” Danny murmured. “I know.”

“ _Hey_....”

“Yep.”

“We weren’t ready then.”

Danny nodded, and when Steve scooted closer, he left himself be drawn against Steve’s side.

“Is it okay that I kind of love that Matt saw it though?”

Danny huffed out a bitter chuckle. “I do too.” And then Danny went still. “He’d be mad at us, I think.”

“For not telling everyone?”

Danny nodded. 

Suddenly Steve remembered he hadn’t told Danny yet about Albert’s butt pinch, so he did, and Danny laughed. 

“He was such a player, that doesn’t surprise me. He and Aunt Florence were forever going on double dates together, and the way she tells it, I get the sense he flirted just as easily with her boyfriends as he did his girlfriends.”

Steve sputtered beer all over Matt’s grave.

“Um, Danny.”

“What?”

“The Mabel that Florence lived with.”

“Yeah, she was great, they were really solid together, the best of friends... but forever bickering. Kinda like us, I guess.”

“A  _lot_  like us, Danny....”

And Danny sucked in a breath of understanding. “Did she tell you that this morning? Oh my god, so much makes sense now.”

He went quiet as he processed the new information, things occurring to him, shuffling and settling into new places. After a bit, and about half of his bottle of beer, Danny stood, offering his hand to Steve. He turned to Matt’s stone, and sighed. 

“I’ll never forgive you for not being here to see this.” And he pulled Steve into a long, slow, passionate kiss. If it happened to be sprinkled with a few tears, that was just kind of part of the deal.

They poured the rest of their beers on the grass over the grave, then, taking the empties with them, walked, arms around each other, back to the car. 

The whole ride home, they didn’t speak, but it was the okay kind of not talking, and half way there Danny picked Steve’s hand up from his lap and put it on his own thigh. Steve gave Danny’s leg a squeeze, then let it rest still, tempted to do more, but not wanting to distract him while he drove. However, by the time they made it home, they were both buzzing with  _need_. When Danny reassured him the house would be empty for a good while longer, Steve took Danny completely apart, piece by piece. 

“Yep, definitely the best orgasm I ever had in this room,” Danny said, proudly, when they were done.

“I really think I don’t want to know about any of the others....”

“Shut up, most of them were by myself, you idiot.” 

They showered after, and got ready to go out... on an actual “date.” Steve couldn’t stop grinning.

“So there’s this place Stella told me about,” Danny said, when Steve asked where they were going. “It’s not  _really_  a gay bar, but it’s gay and bi and trans friendly, and... we’ve never done that and I think... I’d like to.”

It wasn’t something that had come up at home, because they simply hadn’t changed how they were in public. They’d always sat a little too close, touched a little too much, and so there hadn’t been a massive sea change in their in public behavior. (Well except that sometimes at the office they got a little too handsy and the team took to throwing things at them till they either broke apart or went to “get stuff from the supply closet.” Which everyone else now refused to go anywhere near.)

But with the way Steve had been feeling since they’d been in Jersey—like he was experiencing a Danny shortage—he really liked the idea of getting to be... more  _obvious_  in public. 

It didn’t hurt that Danny liked to dress up, and Steve really enjoyed watching him, and maybe he gave in a little when Danny came at him with product. So they were slick and polished and just a little bit Jersey when they hit the town, so to speak—although it was more like _hit the back country road_.

The place was dark, with rustic wood paneling, worn stone floors, feeling every bit the converted barn it was. But there were sparkling crystal chandeliers hanging from exposed rafters, charcoal velvet upholstered booths, and huge plants filling empty spaces. It was private, yet open, as though it had been designed exactly to give you a sense of security, of privacy, while still allowing you to see and be seen. Steve understood why it was popular with an open minded set. The whole place just felt welcoming and supportive without screaming pridefully. He instantly loved it, and wished there were a place like it on Oahu. 

They settled into one of the more exposed booths, ordered a couple signature cocktails from ingredients Steve had never heard of but Danny seemed familiar with, and they added to their second round of drinks an assortment of appetizers accompanied by a variety of dipping sauces. And everything was fantastic and flavorful and new and exciting, but nothing was as wonderful as feeling free to be as loving and cuddly and smitten as Steve wanted to be. After the past couple of days, he’d worried how comfortable Danny might be, being demonstrative in public, but he relaxed into it, letting Steve take the lead, and seeming very much at home with an entirely new level of openness.

And Steve wouldn’t have denied he was thrilled by that. A couple times he almost brought it up. How nice it was, how freeing, to not worry how a touch might be interpreted, but simply to  _be_. But he didn’t want to ruin their evening by stirring the issue. So he held his tongue, and made the most of it while it lasted.

They skipped to dessert because the main course menu was mostly burgers and other unexceptional things, but there were some creative desserts Danny had his eye on, so they fed each other bites of baklava-inspired cake made with local honey, and polenta citrus cakes drenched in house-made liquor and sprinkled with candied ginger. And by the time they emerged into the night, the stars were twinkling overhead—but they were no match for the sparkles in Danny’s eyes when he stopped Steve before they got in the car.

“I do love you, you know.”

Steve grinned, and kissed the honey from Danny’s lips.

“And I’m sorry I’ve been a horrible boyfriend on this trip.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Steve replied before he could stop himself. 

“I’m sorry?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this trip as boyfriends. Maybe we should be doing it as husbands.”

He kicked himself as soon as the words were out, but at the same time he knew. He’d been sitting on that for too long.

Danny’s mouth was hanging just a little bit open, so Steve pulled him close. “I just mean then there’s not any question. There’s not any sense of seeking approval, it’s a done deal and we’re not... open for anyone’s opinions or judgment.”

“Is that how you feel? Like we’re needing their approval? Like I’m  _wanting_  it?”

Steve wasn’t sure how to respond to that, because, wasn’t that what Danny was doing? When he was deciding if they would tell, who they would tell? 

“Babe. No. That’s not it at all. I just know there are some who will... well, react like Lois, and... I don’t need that negativity in my life, you know?”

“Danny, I get that. And I’ve tried to be okay with it. But I think that I’m not. I...  _ugh_. I seem to have this need to make sure everyone knows you’re  _mine_. And I’m sorry, but I think I need that, need to...  _god this is embarrassing_. I need to mark you as mine.” 

He didn’t let go of Danny till the end of his little spurted tirade, but when he did, he took a couple steps back, almost as if to distance himself from his words. But as soon as he had, Danny stepped forward.

“Okay did you just apologize for proposing to me, all in one go?”

“I think I did.”

“Jesus, Steven. That’s a hell of a way to do it.” 

Steve’s hands were back on Danny’s arms before he could stop himself. “Danny I don’t want to push you. And I will hate it if anyone shuts themselves out of your life because of it. But I’m going crazy here, wanting to touch you, wanting to kiss you, needing to prove to them all that I’ve got you, that I love you. Forever.”

“Okay, that was better.” Danny’s smile was amused and very fond.

“Huh?”

“You know, as far as proposals go.” He looked around them, at the dimly lit parking lot, edged with flower beds filled with faded summer flowers. “Still, maybe a parking lot, as lovely as this parking lot is, maybe not the place I’d have chosen for it....”

Danny was laughing at him. Softly, but definitively, laughing at him.

“Are you saying yes?”

“I dunno, I think so?”

And now Steve wanted to laugh. Needed to laugh, and needed to kiss Danny. And kiss him. And kiss him. And he could, so he did. But then he had to ask again, because he felt dizzy. 

“Are you sure?”

“You can’t ask me a question after kissing me like that, it’s just not fair. But yeah. I think you have a point.”

“Hey, I am not getting married to make a  _point_.”

“No, that’s not... I just mean.... Look. It’s been a long and emotional couple of days. Let’s go home and cuddle the kids and visit with my folks, and get some sleep, and see how things look by the light of day, okay?”

Steve grinned and nodded. “Sounds perfect.”

And if Danny mumbled something about “And maybe you try that again in a more fitting setting,” it only gave Steve ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....At this point I'm gonna say chapter five will probably get posted tomorrow.... I've had more time than I'd planned on, and a manageable amount of comments, and I sure could do with the distraction, so....


	5. Chapter 5

All the way home Steve and Danny smiled like the goofs they were, held hands, kissed at stop lights. Steve felt ridiculously giddy and lightheaded. That might have been in part because his mind was going about a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out what he needed to get in place. But his plotting was interrupted suddenly when they pulled into the drive and saw there were two cars he didn’t recognize—but Danny clearly did. 

“Oh boy.”

“Who is it, buddy?”

“ _The girls_.”

And maybe his tone was a little bit weary and  _I really don’t have the energy for this right now_ , but it was also filled with love. (It might have been a tone Steve knew intimately....)

It turned out that Clara had invited Bridget and Sophie to the zoo with them, and when they had ended up back at the house for hot dogs after, they’d called Stella to join them. By the time the boys got home, the three kids were watching movies and playing games in the family room while the adults sat out by the fire pit drinking and visiting. Steve didn’t want to speculate on the topic of conversation. 

They hung out with the kids for a bit, and Steve eyed a rather enormous pile of stuffed animals on the sofa. It seemed as though Danny’s warning about stuffed animal purchases had indeed met disobedient ears. Charlie grabbed a large green snake from the pile and presented it proudly to Danny. 

“I got this one because there aren’t any snakes in Hawaii and I think they’re cool.”

Steve was standing close enough to Danny to know that he did not share his son’s enthusiasm for the topic. But his discomfort didn’t last long, because Charlie then found a large and very fluffy seal, and handed it to his dad saying, “This one’s for you, though I’m not really sure why....” And, not waiting for a reaction (which was really fortunate because Steve nearly spit), dove back into the stack to emerge with a fierce-but-very-cuddly-looking lion. “And this one is for you Uncle Steve.” 

Steve had to bite his lip to cover just how perfectly he felt that fit. 

“That’s very sweet, thank you Charlie.”

“Oh, it wasn’t me, thank grandma.” And he turned back to the movie, utterly oblivious to his dad’s embarrassment and Steve’s amusement, wearing his snake around his neck. 

Grace and Sophie were absolutely  _not_  clueless, however, and they giggled at Steve and Danny’s expressions until Danny gifted them with a near-death-glare, at which point they turned back to the movie and giggled even more.

Danny grabbed Steve’s arm, growling “I need a drink,” and dragged him up the stairs and out to the back, each of them still holding their stuffed animals. 

“Very funny, ma.” Danny said as he rooted around in the cooler for a beer. Despite his irritated tone (also one Steve knew well), Steve noticed Danny was holding the seal close but gently, and he couldn’t help it, it made his heart flutter. He grinned at the amused and gratified (no doubt at the vexation they’d caused Danny) expressions on all three Williams women’s faces. These were people who got Danny, and Steve very much appreciated that.

“I  _love_  my lion, thank you,” and he bent to give Clara a kiss on the cheek.

She laughed warmly. “Oh, I’m glad. Danny always loved stuffed animals as a kid, and I think it’s so important to have things of comfort as adults, too. Especially at times of stress.” She whispered that last bit, but not so softly Danny wouldn’t hear it. Steve nodded in understanding, and in gratitude.

Danny, still playing the offended card, handed Steve a beer over his shoulder, then tugged him rather more roughly than was necessary (not that Steve was complaining) over to sit with him, and if he pulled one of the blankets laying out in the chairs casually around them, Steve chose to believe it was for his benefit, and not because Danny’d grown accustomed to island temperatures, and found the New Jersey fall evening air chilly.

“So,” Steve continued, once he got settled with Danny resting firmly against his side. “The other stuffed animals are...?” There had been far more than two stuffed animals left on the sofa, and he wondered if they all had equally fitting stories behind them.

Clara grinned and nodded, perhaps sensing his thinking. “I got one for each of us.... An owl for Eddie, since he stays up late, a flamingo for me—they’re pink and hilarious but also elegant, and I love that. Grace got a polar bear because she misses them in Hawaii, and... no doubt Charlie told you about his reasoning for the snake.” She cringed as she said it, and she did sound apologetic. “Sorry about that, sweetheart. But he really fell in love with it. At least you know you’re safe from him wanting a real one....” 

Danny grunted, clearly still displeased with his son’s choice. Steve pulled him closer, wanting to be comforting, but also trying not to be too amused with how adorable his boyfriend was being.

“A brown bear for me,” Bridget added, when it seemed Clara wasn’t going to continue. “Because I’m a fierce momma bear, or so my daughter insists.” She sounded dubious, but Steve didn’t doubt it for a second. 

“And they got me a dolphin, because—well, you can work out what they think about me from that.” And her tone might have been gruff, but she clearly loved having been associated with the sea creature known for its playful approach to life. Steve grinned, and found he liked her already. “I’m Stella, by the way. And you’re even hotter than they said.”

“ _Ahem_. Back off. He’s taken.” Danny’s voice was nearly a growl, and Steve had to bite his lips to avoid too huge a grin.

Bridget, having no such concerns, laughed outright. “Oh, and you question our choice of lion for you, dear brother?”

Steve held his lion closer at that, maybe to help hide his delight, but maybe also because he loved the truth of that statement.

“Steve seems to agree,” Stella pointed out helpfully, and Danny turned a glare in his direction, which he managed, he hoped, to shrug off with a kiss.

They fell into easy conversation after that, first about their zoo visit, then a little catching up, but no one mentioned the family visit from the day before, for which Steve was grateful. No doubt they’d already discussed it thoroughly before they’d gotten home.

When Clara and Eddie went to check on the kids, the girls asked how the bagel party had gone. After Danny recounted the Great Bagel Debate—the three of them rehashing it briefly as the sisters made objection to their brother’s obstinate and, they felt, closed-minded view—Stella handed out fresh drinks, saying everyone clearly needed to be drinking more. However, she evidently didn’t share her mother’s fondness for the fruity drinks, and her face showed her displeasure as she took a sip of an apple flavored one.

“I don’t drink beer, because migraines, but this stuff’s vile.”

Still, she took another sip, almost as though she couldn’t believe how gross it was, and when she made the same face again, Steve chuckled softly. Danny did something similar. He would then move on to _here, taste this_ , which fortunately, Stella didn’t do.

Danny shared the revelation of Florence and Mabel’s true relationship, and both girls’ faces lit up in surprise.

“Do you really not remember?” Stella was twirling the bottle between her fingers, which seemed to remind her she’d been drinking it. Setting it down, she looked at Danny, fondness evident in her expression. “You used to say they were your ideal couple.”

A slow, warm smile spread across his face. “Yeah, I remember _that_.... I thought they were fantastic. I just never realized they were  _in love_.”

“That’s not exactly your strong suit, though is it? Recognizing love?” Bridget said it teasingly, but also with so much affection. She nodded in Steve’s direction, in case her meaning wasn’t obvious, and Steve’s throat tightened. Only partly because of her implication.... Mostly because her expression reminded him  _so much_  of Mary....

Danny rolled his eyes and threw his bottle cap at her. She ducked and missed it, then grinned and blew him a kiss, winking at Steve for good measure. Recovering quickly , Steve winked back.

“What were they like together?” He asked, before things could devolve further, tugging Danny closer and more under the blanket in an effort to soothe him. 

Stella sighed, leaning forward and picking her drink back up. “Steadfast,” she said before taking a drink, which she spit back into the bottle. “Someone take this away from me,” she grunted in disgust, handing the bottle to Danny.

“Oh, so I’m  _someone_ , huh?” But he took it, and set it on the ground next to his own abandoned bottle. “They fought like an old married couple.” He paused. “I guess that should have been a sign, huh?”

“Their banter was epic,” Bridget recalled. “Witty, biting, but always loving.”

“....And they would fight tooth and nail for each other,” Stella mused, wrapping her blanket tighter around her shoulders, as though craving that kind of connection herself. She was smiling warmly at Steve, then tilted her head just slightly in Danny’s direction. When he turned, he saw why.

Danny was looking at him, eyes glistening in the firelight, expression so adoring and so full of love. “Sounds like us, eh, babe?” He whispered, then nestled against Steve, uncaring of their audience—which melted Steve’s already gooey heart.

There was a too-loud chorus of syrupy “Awwwws” from both sisters which Steve was certain was followed by an almost audible rolling of the eyes from their big brother. 

“I should get my girl home to bed,” Bridget sighed, standing. “Mom said you’re heading to the Shore in the morning, but we’re doing a family thing when you get back. Featuring baked ziti and more of these delightful beverages, no doubt,” she added, tossing her not-quite-empty in the bin next to the fire.

“We got wine,” Danny remembered. “And some of the hard stuff for you,” he smiled at Stella.

“Well in that case, I’ll bring prune cake,” Stella said as though that made perfect sense, and, standing as well, walked over to where Steve and Danny were sitting. “I’d better get myself to bed, but I’m so glad I finally got to meet you. Eric thinks really highly of you, and now I know why.” She gave his head a rub with one hand while she messed up Danny’s hair with the other. “Thank you for loving my brother. He needs it.” Steve felt filled with a fuzzy feeling somewhere between contentment and amusement, and that, he decided, made a whole lot of sense. “Oh, and. Don’t let him skimp on the Jersey Shore experience. Grace knows the important stuff, listen to her.” She gave their heads one last playful rub, and blowing them kisses, headed up to the house after her sister.

Danny doused the fire with the bucket of water sitting ready, kissing Steve lazily while it fizzled. Once he was sure it was out, they reluctantly left their little bubble of privacy and went inside, ushering the kids to bed, and going there directly themselves, because Danny had insisted they get an early start for the Shore.

Evidently traffic could be awful. 

Which, in all honesty, Steve hadn’t really believed. And you can’t blame him for that, because Danny does tend to complain a little bit. But the moment they merged onto the Garden State Parkway, Steve saw what Danny meant. It wasn’t  _traffic_  so much as a long, thin parking lot. 

But Grace was prepared—she had a game on her phone like twenty questions, that they could all play. And Charlie had snacks Clara had packed. They’d brought their zoo stuffed animals as well as their own pillows, and they played the question game for a bit, had something to eat, and soon both kids drifted back to sleep, leaving Steve with some quiet time at Danny’s side. 

There was something about being so cozily ensconced in a car, traveling now at a reasonable pace, and it occurred to Steve that he didn’t seem to get car sick when Danny drove. Maybe that said something about love and trust or maybe it was just Jersey, but he felt the strangest contentment, sealed in this vehicle with the people he loved so much, traveling to an anticipated location. It was just a couple hour drive, and they were only spending the one night, but it was, in a real satisfying sense, a family road trip. And that made him very happy indeed. So maybe it felt a little too soon when they unloaded from the stuffy car into the fresh sea air, which mixed with that fall-leaves smell on a gentle breeze, down the quaint and quiet residential street.

Their home for the night was a sweet Victorian style inn, with bright awnings over a vast porch adorned with flower boxes and tasteful fall decorations—pumpkins and gourds amongst pansies and decorative kale. The steps creaked welcomingly as they walked up them and into the lobby, which twinkled with crystal-hung lights and an actual fire in the fireplace. The staff welcomed them like family, pointed out the bar and restaurant where they had reservations for dinner, the breakfast room where they would eat the next morning, and, most importantly—the spot where cookies, hot cocoa, and board games would be later in the evening.

It was, in short, absolutely charming, and Steve wanted to kiss Danny right then and there for the perfectness of the place, of the timing.... He let the bell boy take Danny and the kids up to their rooms while he made excuses to linger behind for a bit to make a couple arrangements.

When he was done, he joined the others in exploring their accommodations. The interior of the inn was tastefully historic yet functionally modern, and not at all stuffy like Steve had been afraid it might be. They had two rooms—one for the kids and one for him and Danny—and they connected with a little door, which amused Charlie to no end. Grace was clearly enamored with the decor, though she’d stayed here with her dad and aunts before. Evidently all the rooms were decorated differently, and she took a number of pictures on her phone before growing anxious to get back outside. 

They went down to sit on the porch while Danny moved the car to the overnight parking a few blocks away. Everything they needed would be within walking distance, and there was something so quaint and rare about that. It had this odd slowing effect to it, like you started breathing differently. Maybe it was something you only got when you could walk from where you sleep to where you eat and everything in between. Steve couldn’t remember the last time he’d experienced that. Probably boot camp. Which didn’t exactly have the same vibe.

“Ready to walk into town?” Danny asked when he returned from parking, and Grace was about five steps ahead of him, already off down the street, dragging Charlie by the hand along with her. Steve suspected she had a slight shopping agenda. She’d been telling him about the adorable shops, and how it was the perfect place for holiday shopping. He’d only partially listened at the time, but he was planning on watching carefully, in case he could find something he needed for a specific gift he had in mind.

Danny held Steve back a bit as the kids rushed on, and they, too, held hands as they walked down the tree-lined street, kicking fallen leaves, admiring tidy flower beds and fall decorations, and feeling truly like a family on vacation.

It was definitely something Steve could get used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, with my messed up weekend schedule and given that (and I'll probably curse myself by saying this out loud, _but_ ) editing is going better than I'd imagined... and considering that this coming Friday's episode is the one I saw them filming and I'm really getting twitchy to start writing post-eps.... _And_ hopefully next weekend will have all the fun stuff this weekend was supposed to have had..... *deep breath* I'm going to try and get one chapter up each day this week, posting the final chapter on Friday....... _I did say *try*....._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Some of you might want a tissue for this one as well....)

The downtown area consisted mostly of a picturesque pedestrian street, lined with trees in shades of red and orange and yellow, and vignettes of fall decoration: Bales of straw, scarecrows, and more pumpkins in more varieties than Steve thought he’d ever seen before. All the shops had old fashioned window displays, most of them seasonal in one way or another. It was decidedly fall, and a lot of Steve’s life had been spent in mostly seasonless places, so even though it felt a little like it was hitting him over the head with its overt fall-ness, he couldn’t help but kind of enjoy it. He might have found himself thinking it’d be fun here at Christmas, but he kept that thought decidedly to himself. For now, at least. 

Grace did in fact do some shopping, little gifts in beachy themes (Steve didn’t understand the appeal, if he was honest—after all, they lived in Hawaii, but apparently it was a Shore Thing), and a selection of soaps and candles from, yes, a soap and candle shop. Danny, taking the other day as his lead, left Grace under Steve’s supervision and wandered off with Charlie to explore some of the souvenirs of a sweeter nature. When they wandered back, they had sticky fingers not entirely appropriate for before lunchtime, at least not to Steve’s mind. But they had such happy smiles on their faces he couldn’t seem to scold them.

The thought that he’d even thought of scolding them for eating sugar before lunch, though... that warmed his heart in a surprising way, and he pulled on Danny’s sticky-fingered hand till he was close enough to whisper “I love this, thank you,” which of course earned him a smug smile probably meant to convey _I knew you would_.

They ate fish and chips at an Irish style pub that was also somehow vaguely pirate themed, and possibly it was the sugar, or maybe it was something in the Jersey sea air, but Danny was more relaxed and playful and childlike than Steve had ever seen him. 

Grace caught Steve’s expression, which must have been slightly dazed or amused, and she grinned. 

“Yeah, this is what he gets like here. I don’t understand it either.”

They were seated on one side of the booth while the boys shared the other, and Steve wrapped his arm around her. “Love you, Gracie,” he whispered, under the laughter and pirate-speak of the two, sweet, adorable Williams boys across from them.

She leaned into his embrace and said “Love you too,” back, and Steve didn’t think his heart could get much fuller. 

Turned out he was wrong though, because after lunch they were evidently required by law to eat swirled cones of frozen custard, a white and peachy-shade-of-orange, creamsicle-flavored soft serve, and it was cloy, it was overly sweet and completely artificially flavored, but it was nostalgic in a strikingly visceral way, and the focused enjoyment Danny clearly derived from it affected Steve so deeply he could barely stand it.

“So what d’ya think, babe? Better than shave ice, right?” 

Steve laughed. “ _Sweeter_ than shave ice, I think,” he replied, too smitten with Danny’s love for the stuff to say anything more direct. 

Danny didn’t mind, however, and pressed himself against Steve’s side. “Here, have another taste.” He stuck the cone right in Steve’s face, and the look in his eyes was... it was as though Danny had thought about this moment, maybe many times. And Steve had a feeling he needed to not let Danny down, so he took another taste, swirling his tongue across the creamy and slightly tangy confection, and finding he enjoyed it a lot more this way, with Danny’s eyes drilling into him, watching, seeking, consuming Steve’s consumption of the frozen treat. 

“Yeah, okay buddy, better than shave ice, just _please_ never tell Kamekona I said that.” 

“It’s because you can lick it,” Charlie piped up, face innocent and covered in peach-colored residue. “Shave ice you need two hands for, and spoons and straws. This is easier, and you can walk while you eat it.”

“Excellent points, keiki,” Danny replied proudly, and if he pinched Steve, who was trying hard not to laugh, well. Steve wasn’t about to complain. 

“I do think, however, we probably need to go wash up before we head to the beach, don’t you think?”

They ended up back in their rooms for a bit before heading down to the beach. And the surf was rough, and not at all inviting, but there was a raw energy to it, and a wild beauty that stood in sharp contrast to the perfectly manicured and tidy town, and something in that contrast seemed to click somewhere in Steve’s mind, and he felt like it echoed something of Danny’s character, something essential about the man Steve loved so much. That polished exterior, the perfectly pressed shirts, tailored trousers, polished shoes, and of course the hair.... All of it sometimes only barely containing that fullness of the passion, the love, the care and concern Danny so openly felt for everyone in his life. Steve had often compared Danny to the sea in his mind, but watching him at the Jersey Shore, that reference made even more sense. 

Danny caught Steve watching him, and he grinned. “Not bad, huh babe.” Then turned back to watch his children, running barefoot along the edge of the water, stopping to collect the smooth pebbles the beach was known for, filling Danny’s pockets with them till he said _no more_.

They all wanted to shower and change before dinner, and they were just about ready to head to the bar for a before-dinner drink, when Danny’s phone rang.

“Shit, that’s Tani,” Danny said, looking concerned. “I should answer this....”

“Yeah, okay, buddy,” Steve said. “I’ll take the kids for drinks, join us when you’re done.”

Steve shepherded the kids out the door and down the stairs towards the restaurant. The waitress knew who they were without asking for their reservation—since it was technically the off-season, there weren’t that many people staying at the inn, and not many non-hotel patrons either. But there was a warm bustle in the elegant dining room, maybe because the staff was enjoying the less-stressful break of fall between the busier summer and holiday seasons, or maybe they were just having a good day. Whatever the cause, the entire waitstaff was on their toes and willing to go the extra mile for the guests they did have, so when Charlie ordered a Shirley Temple, it came with three cherries (which he thought was the greatest thing ever), and the bartender concocted a special drink for Grace, suited to her grown-up tastes, with fresh berries and crushed herbs. Steve, suffering slightly from nerves, ordered a scotch and soda.

As they sipped their drinks, Steve tried to work up the courage to ask the kids what he’d so easily in his mind planned to do. Unfortunately, it was much harder in person than he’d anticipated, and after several sips and an increasingly uncomfortable silence, Grace spoke. 

“You’re gonna propose to Danno aren’t you.” 

Steve stammered. Blushed. Finally got his words to work. “How’d you know?”

“Seriously? You’re a _wreck_. You keep fidgeting in your seat, you’ve adjusted your cuffs like ten times, and you _never_ order scotch and soda. Danno only drinks whiskey when he’s upset or nervous, so it’s not a huge leap to imagine....”

“What’s _propose_ mean?” Charlie asked, taking a break from trying to fish cherries from the bottom of his glass with his straw.

Grace turned to her brother and whispered: “Uncle Steve’s gonna ask Danno to marry him.”

Charlie’s face lit up like Grace had just said Santa was on his way. “Us too?”

And that was maybe just perfectly what Steve needed. “Exactly, Charlie,” he said, leaning in close. “You guys too. Because that’s what I want, for us to be a family... like we’ve been on this trip, but on regular days, back home.”

“Uh-huh,” Charlie nodded. “I’ve wanted that for a long time.”

“Oh, yeah, buddy? Since your dad and I told you we were in love?” 

“No....” He shook his head. “Longer than that.”

And, okay, that was interesting. Grace was looking suspiciously like she was hiding behind her drink. 

“Grace?” 

“Yeah, dad?” 

And she was teasing him, and it was playful, but it was also genuine and so freaking loving he couldn’t keep the moisture from springing immediately to his eyes. And he wanted to scold her, because he didn’t need to be already crying here, but he just couldn’t—he loved it too much. 

“Do you guys have something you’d like to share with me?”

She set her drink down and took his hand. “Only that we’ve kind of been waiting for this for a really long time, so yes—you idiot, we want this, want you in our family, and please ask him, ask him tonight, don’t freak out, you know he’s going to say yes, just....” And she squeezed his hand so tightly it helped draw his focus, helped ground him. “You can do this, just relax and tell him you love him. He doesn’t need poetry or some fancy speech... you’ll be perfect.”

And that really _was_ what he needed. Pulling out his phone he sent a quick text, and thanking the kids, he took some deep breaths to collect himself, which was good because it was only moments before Danny appeared, looking puzzled, and ordering a glass of the house white.

“That was so weird,” he said to Steve when he sat down. “Tani needed me to walk her through the Jones file for some reason I didn’t fully understand... and she kept having these weird technical problems... but then I guess suddenly everything went through and she just said _thanks_ and _bye_ and hung up.”

“Huh,” Steve said. “How strange.”

And possibly it was his tone, possibly it was something about the expressions on the faces of his children, but Steve was pretty sure Danny knew something was up. The waitress brought his wine over just then, and Steve let him take a drink (a really big drink, as it turned out), before he cleared his throat. 

“So, ah, I’m just gonna get this out. This trip has made me realize that I don’t just want a boyfriend, I don’t want an ambiguous ‘partner,’ I don’t want something that can be easily dismissed or misunderstood. I want a family. I want a husband and I want the kids, I want the four of us, together. And not just for a fun trip to Jersey. I want school mornings and homework at night, I want early nights in, and middle of the nights when you can’t sleep. I want all of it, and I want everyone to know that I’ve got it. That we belong together. Forever.”

Somewhere around _school mornings_ , tears had started down Danny’s cheeks, and he didn’t bother trying to stop them. “You know my answer, babe.” He whispered, leaning forward for a kiss, and lingering over it, sniffling. 

“And you were worried,” Grace scoffed, patting Steve on the back. “That was beautiful.” 

The waitstaff, with the benefit of Steve’s earlier heads-up, had been watching and quietly (or maybe not quietly, Steve had been so focused on their little circle, it’s entirely possible elephants could have been dancing on the tables and he would have missed it) preparing. Which meant they had been optimistic in the outcome, and that made Steve love this place even more. Four waiters descended on them, is the point, each with an elegant crystal flute filled with a sparkling beverage. Two darker golden and sweet smelling, given to the kids, and two pale and dancing with effervescence, for him and Danny.

“They have a little too much time on their hands this time of year,” their waitress whispered, when the waiters disappeared as suddenly and as dramatically as they’d appeared. She nodded as she backed away. “Congratulations to all four of you.” 

And the menu was simple and seasonally limited, so there hadn’t been a lot to choose from, but Steve had felt good about his selections, and he was proved right as food started to arrive as magically as the drinks, appearing at their places without interrupting the easy flow of their conversation. Appetizers, then salads, then mains—it was all fantastic, and it felt right to not have to decide anything else that evening. To have made the only decision that mattered, and to be able to just revel in it. 

By the time they were finished eating, the cookies and cocoa and board games were set up by the fire in the lounge, and Charlie, who had been looking forward to game night, dragged them over, selected Clue, and began setting it up, with Grace’s help. 

It gave Steve some time to lean back on the sofa, Danny falling easily at his side, their fingers intertwining and holding tight. He sighed contentedly, and brought up the remaining piece of all this.

“I think we should do it here, in Jersey, before we go home. We can have a celebration there, but I think we should get married here in front of your folks and the girls.”

Danny looked up at him. “Can we do that? Don’t we need... to _plan_? We need a license at least, and I don’t have my birth certificate with me, and actually I don’t even know....”

He no doubt stopped talking because he’d seen the look on Steve’s face.

“Tani didn’t really need the Jones file.”

“Uhhh, _no_.”

“And. Just a guess. You have a copy of my birth certificate you got from mom?”

“Um... yes.” Steve really was trying not to smile, he was. It just was really hard not to.

“And... the FedEx package the guys at the desk told me about. That’s your birth certificate, dug up by... lemme guess, Tani?”

“Yep.” There was basically no chance he didn’t look smug as fuck at this point, and he knew it.

“Gee, it’s almost like I’m a good detective or something.”

“So, what do you say. Wanna marry me tomorrow?”

“Jesus, you don’t kid around, do you.” But then Danny laughed. “Of course you don’t. God, it’s so perfectly you. Once you decide what you want, you just can’t wait to take it and make it yours.”

“I dunno, Danny, I think I’ve waited a really long time for this. I just don’t want to wait any longer.”

“I’m not even going to try and fight you on that one babe,” and Danny sighed as he leaned back, but he kept his hold on Steve’s hand... maybe even holding it a little tighter.

“ _Dads_ ,” Charlie whined, clearly growing impatient with annoying adult conversation. “Pick your pieces, time to play!” And Grace handed them their cards with a grin.

“Oh my god he’s been spending too much time with you,” Danny griped, but Steve knew he meant it with love. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday... life had other ideas.

They barely made it through the one game before Charlie was starting to drift off. Maybe it was the heat of the fire (it was just cool enough for it, and it was only comfortable because they weren’t wearing warmer clothes), maybe it was the long day, the excitement, or all of the sugar. Danny looked pleasingly sleepy as well, and it wasn’t the fire that was making Steve feel so flushed and warm. He and Grace put the game away, and shared a meaningful look over the two sleepy boys sitting with them.

“I can carry Charlie upstairs, but how do we get Danno to bed?”

“I’m pretty sure you can work that one out yourself, dad.”

She’d done it twice now, and Steve knew she was testing him with it, but he loved it a lot more than he would have admitted, and he really hoped she kept it up. So maybe it was his way of encouraging her, when he leaned closer to Danny, pressed a kiss to his ear, and whispered “Bedtime, my love.”

Fortunately, Danny had some kind of innate parental filter that engaged automatically when he was around the kids, because his reaction was less R-rated than it otherwise might have been. Grace rolled her eyes indulgently at them, then took the room keys (real, metal keys on a key chain) and started up the stairs ahead of them. Steve scooped Charlie up with ease, and with a warm hand resting on Danny’s back, steered them up the stairs, and toward bed.

Charlie stirred when Steve put him down, and Danny managed to convince him to at least brush his teeth before falling back asleep. He revived a bit as he did, and once he’d changed into his pajamas he requested a story. Steve offered to do story duty—it was something he actually loved getting to do—but Grace shooed him away, saying he should look after his own sleepy boy in need of getting to bed. So he did, and it wasn’t too much later that Grace appeared in their little door way, saying she was going to shut the door, now that Charlie was asleep. “Just be sure and open it before morning,” she said softly, blowing them kisses, as she carefully closed the door.

Danny, who had looked very much in danger of falling asleep suddenly looked anything but, and he crawled under the blankets with renewed enthusiasm.

“So, fiancé. If we’re only going to get one night of this being engaged thing, it seems a shame not to make the most of it.”

“I think maybe you’re slightly misconstruing the general associations of an engagement, Daniel.”

“I don’t think I am, actually....” And he proceeded to take Steve, bit by excruciatingly tiny bit, apart. There were several parts where Danny had to shush him. He couldn’t help it. Really hot sex had been the beginning of this thing between them, and it was still their most powerful skill. Danny liked to wax poetic about Steve’s prowess in bed, but from his perspective, it was Danny’s attention to the subtleties that won the day—and he picked up on a lot. So Danny wasn’t surprised, but Steve was nearly floored by it, when Danny kissed Steve’s still-bare, but not-for-long, ring finger, and he nearly came on the spot. “You really want this, don’t you,” Danny asked after. “ More than I would have thought you would.”

Steve huffed out an amused but almost pained laugh. “I'm surprising myself with it, to be honest.” He took Danny’s hand in his and rubbed over Danny’s ring finger, as though making sure he’d be able to remember what it felt like without a ring on it. “I think that if we’d stayed in Hawaii, it might not have happened? Maybe it’s because I’m more comfortable there, more in my element. Maybe all of this came out because I felt a little lost, adrift, and that made me see how much you anchor me, how much you center me, and how much I need for everyone to know that.” He sighed, kissed Danny’s finger, and put their hands to his chest. “I don’t really know. I just know it’s been completely overwhelming and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I’m glad,” Danny whispered, against Steve’s bare skin. “I’m glad you pushed me into it. I’m still not sure why I was having such a hard time deciding what to say to people, but part of me wonders if it wasn’t because I wanted you to... not to decide _for_ me, but... almost. Like I wasn’t going to force you into my family... but then you kept wanting more. Meeting every moment far better than I would have predicted. And I guess it really shouldn’t surprise me, how well you fit in. You fit with me and Gracie from day one, much as I fought it. But maybe I needed to wait for that to happen, I don’t know.” He pushed himself up on his elbows and leaned over Steve, to look him in the eye. “But I’m sure now. I’m not hiding this anymore. Which isn’t to say I want a sky writer, okay, babe, so chill. But over baked ziti, in front of everyone, I will kiss you. That’s my true marriage ceremony, right there. No fancy decorations, no fussy words... just an open kiss that says everything it needs to.”

“Sounds perfect to me, Danny.”

And the kiss Danny gave him then was more heated than the one he imagined getting over pasta, but the sentiment would be the same, he knew. And that was what mattered.

Soon Danny was starting to drift again, and Steve got up to open the door, saw both kids were sleeping peacefully, and as he stood in the doorway, he made them a silent promise that they’d come back here someday, as a family. Then he snuggled in at Danny’s side, grinning delightedly when Danny’s leg came up over his hip and pulled him closer, and it occurred to him that part of his problem might have been to do with not having this closeness, this contact, at night. He hadn’t minded the twin beds, he’d been so enamored with being in Danny’s childhood room, he hadn’t thought it had bothered him. But he saw now that it had affected him—because the peace he felt, the rightness, having all of Danny pressed against him as he had become accustomed to... it settled something in his heart he hadn’t known had been unsettled. So it was maybe with fuzzy thoughts of air mattresses in his head that Steve finally fell asleep.

What they hadn’t really thought through, in all the swirl of everything else, was Charlie’s morning ritual. And Steve was a little shocked, to be woken in Charlie’s signature way—and he’d been right, it was roughly in the vicinity of the bladder that you most felt it—but when Charlie added a soft but enthusiastic “Time to get up dads, there’s homemade pop tarts downstairs!” His heart swelled. And when Grace appeared at the bedside, two mugs of coffee in her hands, his eyes went a little misty.

“Charlie, let them be,” Grace chided, as Danny sat up and took one of the mugs, and Grace leaned over Charlie to hand Steve the other. “I’ll bring you guys up something. Eggs? Toast? Bacon?”

“Careful,” Danny said as he sipped his coffee. “I could get used to this.”

“Well, seeing as I didn’t have to actually make any of it, no, I don’t think you will. I’ll be right back.” And she disappeared back into the other room, and called for Charlie to come help her. He gave one good bounce on the bed before vacating it, and then was gone as well.

“They won’t be long,” Danny whispered, setting his coffee down on the side table, and leaning in to Steve for a coffee flavored kiss. “Sorry about that. I guess I forgot that would happen....”

“I didn’t mind,” Steve replied against Danny’s lips. “Actually, I felt honored.”

Danny bit his bottom lip between his teeth and grinned, looking as though he could hardly believe his luck.

“I never would have guessed... and that’s dumb, I see that now, but I never would have imagined that it could be like this. I mean, the sex, I saw that more easily. There’s always been that kind of crazy heat between us, as much as we turned it into anger and arguing. But _this_... this is something totally its own. And it feels more whole and more right than it has any reason to, and it’s just... more than I could have dreamed of.”

And that was far better to Steve’s ears than any official vows could possibly be, so, if they were still kissing when the kids came back with trays of food, well. Grace was a smart girl. So the trays got put on the dresser, and Charlie was escorted out of the room, and the door closed softly but firmly, and Steve was listening for it, but the outer door closed soon after.... And when they finished, and went downstairs, they saw the waitress from the night before, who smiled at them and nodded to the front porch, where they found the kids, drinking mugs of cocoa that seemed to be mostly whipped cream, and eating enormous stacks of pancakes that had definitely not been on the menu.

“Well, aren’t you two the special guests. Won over the staff have you?”

Grace grinned, but Charlie looked confused. “Won them what?”

“Never mind, keiki,” Danny laughed, kissing him on the head. “You guys up for another walk on the beach before we head back to Grandma’s?”

The answer was something of a too-loud and maybe disproportionately enthusiastic _yes_ , but that might have had a little bit to do with the fact that they’d be stopping at the records office to get a marriage license, then having something of a little party in the garden that night. And the kids had very much caught wedding fever. 

In the meantime, pancakes were boxed up to finish in the car, and more sea-polished pebbles were collected, names and promises written in the sand (and photographed by official wedding day photographer Grace), and more family selfies taken than Steve had ever been a part of before. One or two of them at least were more than good enough to be framed, so he definitely didn’t mind. 

When they piled into the car to start back north, towards the City, it was Grace who suggested the stop at a farm stand for some of that famous Jersey corn. Charlie picked out half a dozen pumpkins of various sizes, all of which he insisted _needed_ to come home with them, and Steve—when Danny wasn’t looking—grabbed some homemade candies for the kids... and when had _he_ become the one sneaking sugary treats? He blamed the Jersey air. There was no doubt in his mind at this point that it did something strange to your heart. 

Then again, maybe he’d caught wedding fever as well.

Getting the license was mostly painless. The woman helping them was very sweet, and engaged the kids easily and kindly, for which Steve was grateful, because it kept Charlie distracted when their little group didn’t go unnoticed by an angry-looking man who seemed very much like he was attempting to glare daggers into his and Danny’s skulls. Danny pulled Steve into a kiss, his form of protest, his way of making a statement, and Steve just grinned at the man, holding tightly onto Danny’s hand and Charlie’s, as they left with an official piece of paper that said that regardless of the shitty attitudes of other people, theirs was as valid a family as any. 

They were about half way back to the house when Grace, who had been buried in her phone for the past twenty minutes, suddenly shouted out “Turn here!” And then directed Danny to a small store front in a cozy-looking shopping area. 

She ushered everyone into the shop, which was some kind of hipster outdoorsy sporting goods store, almost like the Jersey equivalent of a surf shop. 

“Here,” she said, pushing Steve and Danny up to a case that was filled with a display about silicone “safety” rings. “These are what you guys need. They’re safer than metal ones. You know, in case you get hurt....” 

Steve hugged her, either to thank her, or to guard against the notion that injury was an inevitability with them still—though perhaps one day soon it would be more likely to be burns and knife cuts in the kitchen—while Danny was sucked totally in by the vast array of options. 

“Just please god don’t pick the camo one, babe.” 

“I like the sparkly ones,” Charlie said, pointing out a red one with specks of glitter in it.

“I don’t suppose you have anything in his size,” Steve asked the guy behind the counter. 

“Not in the rings, but there are bracelets by the same company, we just got them in.” And he pulled out a box of bracelets in a rainbow of colors, and even Grace looked torn between helping Steve and Danny, and wanting to try on the bracelets as well. 

While the kids were distracted, Steve’s eye landed on the one he wanted. And maybe he was being too sentimental, but his heart was sure being stubborn lately, and it’d already got Danny agreeing to marry him, so he decided to follow his heart in this choice as well. They worked out what sizes felt the best, then found the size he needed in the color he’d chosen. Danny grinned at his choice, then made his own, pointing out the color name on the chart, and Steve felt his eyes prickle with warmth. 

Meanwhile Grace had indeed fallen in love with a clear, almost glowing, peach colored bracelet, and Charlie had on a red sparkly one just like the ring he’d pointed out. 

“Red because hearts are red, so it means love,” he told the cashier, who grinned back at him, as he carefully cut the tags off Charlie’s and Grace’s so they could keep them on, then put the two rings into boxes, and slipped a certificate in the bag along with them.

“If you buy them as wedding rings, they come with a lifetime guarantee,” he explained. “So if you ever need a replacement, just send this to the company, and they’ll send you new ones.” 

They thanked him, and he asked when the big day was.

Grace looked at her phone. “Today, and we’d better hurry up, actually. I told grandma we’d stop at Wegmans.”

“Congratulations,” he called after them as they hurried out the door.

“How’d you pull that off, Gracie?” Steve asked, once they were back in the car and headed to the grocery store. 

“Um, it’s called the internet, dad,” and the rest of them laughed while Steve rolled his eyes. 

“Oh boy, what have I gotten myself in for?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could totally have made a whole playlist for this chapter, but here are two songs to listen to if you like songs with your fic: “A Little Honey” by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and “Brand New” by Ben Rector.... You'll know when they come up in the story....

“Are we really doing this?”

They were sitting on the bed—their new bed, in Danny’s room. It was their wedding gift from Danny’s folks, ready for them when they’d returned from the Shore, the old twins gone, and in their place a new queen sized bed complete with a Hawaiian quilt and two new teddy bears (the old ones tucked safely away on a shelf). The note had read _Congratulations and welcome to the family. Hope this encourages you to come back often_ _!_ Steve was pretty sure  _for Christmas_  was the unspoken desire.

Despite that, and despite Clara and Eddie’s obvious enthusiasm for the wedding-on-super-short-notice—they’d hung twinkly lights out back, set up a table and chairs under them, and the family camping tent off to the side so they and the kids could have a sleep-out while Steve and Danny got the house to themselves for their wedding night... the house and  _their new bed_....

Despite all that, and despite Grace’s brilliant throwing together of a last-minute-wedding-feast, the longer the afternoon had worn on, the closer to the time they’d set for the impromptu just-immediate-family ceremony, the grumpier Danny had grown. Until Steve had had enough and taken his boyfriend/fiancé/soon-to-be-if-he-didn’t-back-out husband up to their room and shoved him down on the bed.

“Spill,” he’d growled, and that was all Danny’d managed to blurt out:  _Are we really doing this_.

Steve longed for a short cut. He knew there was something behind this. Some fear that wasn’t really about getting married. Something Steve should probably know, should probably have seen coming. And maybe they’d, all of them, gotten a little swept up in the pace of it all, the romance of it all, the rollercoaster of emotion the past few days. Their time at the Shore had been brief but idyllic, and the whole thing with the rings had been kismet. But all of this had started because Danny’d been struggling about whether or not to even tell people they were  _dating_. That, and Steve’s pent up frustration at having his usual possessive gestures blocked for the sake of propriety. Or the safety of staying vague.

Maybe those weren’t the best reasons to get married.

But really, none of that was  _why_.

Steve sighed. “I dunno, Danny. Obviously we don’t have to. And maybe we’re being idiots, I don’t know.” He sat carefully at the foot of the bed. “What I  _do_  know is that I am not doing the _pretend that maybe we’re not really a couple_ thing anymore. Ever. I can’t.” He laughed awkwardly. “I, uh, I really don’t like what it does to me... and I’m not crazy about what it does to you, either.... I just don’t think we’re built for that. And the thing is, the thing is _we don’t have to_.” He moved closer to Danny, as if to highlight his point. “Yeah, okay, time was, we would have, and maybe I let myself be pushed a little bit by that, by the things Florence said to me. But, really, Danny, we’ve already spent _far_ too many years pretending there wasn’t something there between us. And maybe... maybe that’s why this doesn’t feel _rushed_ to me.... All those years we weren’t actually together but so many people thought we were. Maybe I’m counting those, so it feels like now, it feels like it’s more than time we finally got married.”

He sighed and leaned back on his hands, admiring Danny’s slumped posture, his somewhat forlorn expression. He’d picked up one of the teddy bears when he’d righted himself after Steve had pushed him on to the bed, and he squeezed it closer now. Steve made a mental note to buy lots of stuffed animals to keep around the house. Maybe one for the Camaro. Definitely several for the office—maybe they’d work on the kids too. Lou and Jerry maybe not, but you never know....

“Look, Danny. I don’t need the rings or vows or pieces of paper. Those are all _wonderful_ things, and I am proud to have them, and I will show them off every chance I get. But I don’t  _need_  them. I just need you. But what I _do_ need is you feeling safe and comfortable and confident in  _us_. And I do need to be able to say, in some way, that you are mine and I am yours and nothing can break that. It can be a ring and a certificate, it can be just a promise between us.... But I need for it to be something that isn’t hidden. Something that I can be... proudly, openly, in front of everyone.”

Danny looked up, his expression watery with fear. “What if that’s just Jersey talking?”

“Huh?” Steve wasn’t sure he’d heard right. 

“You said it yourself, it was being here that brought it out in you. This need, this desire to be so open. What if when we get home you don’t still feel that way? What if when we get home you regret it?”

And there it was. And in a flash Steve saw, too, what had done it, what had brought about the panic-turned-grumpiness.

He looked down at the bed, at the quilt. That embroidered emblem of aloha. This was in two-tone blue, not the green and white that adorned his bed back on Oahu. But it had probably felt like a smack in the face to Danny. This bubble they’d been in, where everything had been about do-we-or-don’t-we, and being so focused on how much they touch and how close they sit... and Steve had been the one to say that it had changed things for him. He should have seen that Danny would fear those things would change back when they got home. Home where they never thought twice about those things. Home, where they’d fallen, incredibly easily, into a relationship—and yeah, part of the ease of that had to have been that everyone already thought they were _in_ one. No one, none of their friends, no one they knew, had blinked (or if they had, they’d known better than to do it within view). No one in Hawaii had questioned them or judged them. And surely that was some great bubble of totally unrealistic and yet how-it-should-fucking-be... and maybe they were spoiled.

But that didn’t make what they were about to do any less meaningful. Or important.

Steve picked up the other teddy bear. The one he’d secretly named “Boo Bear” in his head.

“You’re right. We don’t need it there. We’ve been really fortunate. Probably a bit too fortunate. Which made this trip harder. And yes, it took that to push me to see that I wanted this. But, Danny. _I still want it_. And I will want it when we get home. Possibly  _more_. Not less. Just because I didn’t see it till we got here... doesn’t mean it will go away when we get home.” He realized he was gripping Boo Bear maybe a little too tightly, so he set him down and reached for Danny. “I mean, look at it this way. What if we’d been on a trip when we realized we were in love. That wouldn’t have gone away when we got home, right? I don’t think this is any different. I’m certainly not going to regret this. Honestly I can’t wait to get home and see how long it takes people to notice our rings.”

Danny chuckled softly. “Babe. You told _Tani_. If you think there’s a single person left on Oahu who doesn’t already know....”

Steve bit his lip. Looked up at Danny awkwardly from lowered lashes. 

“ _What_. Dear god, what is that look for?”

“She won’t tell.”

“What on earth makes you think that? Steven, tell me you didn’t threaten her.”

“God no. Jesus, Danny.” He bit his lip again. “I might have bribed her, though.”

“Alright, you know what, I do not even want to know.” He sighed. Set his teddy bear down next to Steve’s and let himself fall totally into Steve’s embrace. “Okay. You’re right. I know you are. I just... started to panic that maybe it was just a Jersey thing, you know? That it was different here, and you felt we needed it here but you hadn’t thought that at home, and maybe when we got back it would seem like the wrong thing to have done.... But you’re right, it just took being away to see what was already there. And... I’m just being a paranoid jerk again. God. I’m sorry.”

“Shhh, shhh, hey now. Don’t be so mean to my husband.”

And he was close enough that Steve could feel the shiver that went through Danny’s body at that.

“Oh, you like that, do you,  _husband_?”

“Shut up and kiss me, then can we please go get married?”

They maybe got a little bit lost in the kiss, though, because they missed it when the door opened, and didn’t know until Charlie was bouncing on the bed next to them saying: “It’s time, it’s time, why aren’t you dressed yet? Stop kissing and get ready!”

The nicest outfits they’d brought were the ones they’d worn the night Steve had first not-really-proposed, and when they put them on again, they both had a... reaction to that memory. One that made them need to _touch_.

“You know, in hindsight, it really was the perfect proposal,” Danny said, fussing unnecessarily with Steve’s collar. 

“Despite the parking lot?”

Danny shrugged. “It could have been worse. You could have proposed in the middle of a shoot out or something.” And Steve’s face must have done something, because Danny started laughing. “Oh my god, I am  _so glad_  you didn’t think of that.”

Since they’d already said the things they most needed to, to each other—although if Steve was right, he’d be saying even more to Danny later—but they wanted those things kept just between them. Yes, they wanted people to know they were in fact a couple. But that didn’t mean they thought those words were things for anyone’s ears other than their own. So, the vows they’d picked were the shortest and most direct. Which seemed perfectly fitting to everyone who was there... and everyone who was there already knew anyway, that they were quite simply _meant to be_. 

It was Stella who performed the ceremony. She’d gotten one of those online things for some friends a while back and she’d been surprised to realize it was still valid, when her mom had asked if she knew anyone who could do a ceremony on less than a day’s notice. She kept it simple, managed to be mostly non-snarky, although she didn’t manage to make it through without crying. Which of course set everyone else off crying, which of course then made everyone laugh, so it was pretty much perfect.

But what felt more important was the celebration after. Eddie grilled fish and burgers, as well as the super sweet Jersey corn Grace had insisted on. There were too many different kinds of sides and salads, and several of their favorite wines, as well as the little bottles of various things Danny’d gotten for Stella. 

But it was the cakes Grace had chosen from the bakery at the fancy grocery store that stole the show. She’d picked one of Danny’s favorites, a rum cake with custard and chocolate fillings, and she stacked on top of it a smaller, fruit-topped cake that suited Steve’s sensibilities, and it looked for all the world as though a professional had intended it that way. She took maybe a few too many photos of it, but promised not to share them till after they were home. 

Stella put on a playlist she’d thrown together earlier in the day, and it was mostly light, fun, bubbly stuff they could all dance to, but there were a couple songs she snuck on that were of a mellower and more romantic nature—one Steve especially liked, because it was about honey, and he thought that was perfect for Danny—and she made them dance, “Like at a proper wedding.” 

But mostly it was wonderfully _not_  like a proper wedding—with all the rules and schedules and expectations and formality. It was instead very much like one of those magically special nights, where time seems to be held in a bubble, suspended, warm, softly lit, and perfect. Steve wished he could wrap it up and never let it end.

Although, and maybe they were getting a little old, but they didn’t seem to last very long with the dancing. They wound up sitting by the fire pit, like they’d done the night Steve had kinda-sorta-proposed. And Danny lost his wine glass somewhere along the way, so he took to drinking directly from the bottle... and Steve was too fuzzy and soft and so dang in love he just let him. It was mostly empty anyway. 

The kids were still dancing, as were Clara and Eddie, who had gamely decided that all songs were danceable as slow songs, and he twirled her with ease, and she laughed.

“Think we’ll dance that well at Grace’s wedding, buddy?” Steve asked.

Danny punched him in the arm. “First of all, bite your tongue, second of all, we don’t dance that well  _now_ , so unless you want to take lessons, um,  _no_.”

“I like the lyrics to this one,” Stella mused, as she sipped on one of the sample sized bottles of something not-sweet mixed with a splash of soda water. “ _Don’t even care if anyone sees me dancing_...” she sang along with the chorus. “ _It’s the way I feel when I’m with you... Brand new_.”

“Yeah, sis,” Danny grinned up at Steve over the now empty wine bottle. “I like this one too.”

Eventually Charlie left the dancing and climbed onto Steve’s lap where he announced he was not going to go to sleep until the grown-ups did, and then promptly fell asleep.

“Sophie can join us in the tent, Bridge, if you like,” Clara offered, as she and Eddie cuddled in their seat by the fire.

“Ohhh, I heard about the new bed,” Stella’s eyes were twinkling. “Better break that in nice and good,” she cooed.

“Shush,” Clara scolded, nodding in the direction of the girls still on the improvised dance floor—also known as the lawn.

“Oh, like they aren’t completely aware of what goes on.”

“We are perfectly capable of being subtle,” Danny refuted.

“Like hell you are,” Stella countered. “I am pretty sure we’re doing this tonight because Steve here decided he basically was incapable of keeping his hands off you.”

Steve grinned proudly. “I knew I liked you, Stella.”

She stood. “Here, give Charlie to me, I am a professional at getting already-asleep boys ready for bed.” And she lifted him easily from Steve’s lap, and carried him up to the house.

“I think we can let the girls stay up a bit longer, don’t you?” Bridget said, glancing over at where they were still twirling and laughing.

Danny looked wistful for a moment before saying, “Yeah, let them be.”

By the time Stella came back down with a still-sleeping-but-now-in-his-pajamas Charlie, and with Eddie’s help put him in the tent, the girls had joined the adults around the fire, turning the music off with exhausted sighs, and curling up on blanketed chairs close to the fading fire.

“The only thing we have to do tomorrow,” Clara said, when Eddie sat back at her side. “Is to get ready for the whole family coming to dinner.”

“So, ma, how many baked ziti are we making?”

“I ordered two of the big trays, and garlic bread and salad. All we have to do is put out plates and drinks.... I didn’t want anyone to have to do too much, after tonight. Tonight was the important part. Tomorrow, well, that’s just....”

“Baked ziti,” the siblings all chorused.

“And prune cake,” Stella added. “I did promise.”

Danny nudged Steve. “We’d better get more wine and booze, then,” he grinned.

“Do I even want to know what prune cake is?” Steve asked, and maybe he had a bit of a pained expression on his face, but the thought was seriously not pleasing.

“Yeah, it’s basically what you think,” Stella confirmed. “But Danny’s always loved it. Used to ask for it for his birthday, which did not go over so well at parties, so mom always had to get another cake too.”

“Well, if Danny likes it, I’ll try it,” Steve said, evidently finding husband-dom was making him chivalrous. 

“Alright, I’m done,” Stella laughed, standing and slapping her knee, in a way that couldn’t help but remind Steve of how Eddie had done it the other night. “Too much cheese here for me. I will see you all tomorrow.” And she kissed them each on the head, and waved goodbye.

“I wouldn’t mind getting in the tent and watching something—on headphones of course Danno. Sophie, you can borrow a nightgown from me.” 

Bridget stayed till they were back downstairs, then she too said her goodbyes. “I’m glad you’re officially in the family now, brother,” she whispered, as she hugged Steve. “I’ll worry a lot less about him now.”

Danny of course heard the implication, and of course felt the need to correct her. “I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around, sis. Everyone will worry a lot less about Steve, now he has to report to me.”

Steve was pretty sure it was obvious to everyone there, from the look on his face, that he did not mind one bit. 

By the time they’d showered and gotten in bed they were sleepy, but also kind of oddly alert. Maybe the house was just a little too quiet, maybe there was still some tension about the following day. And maybe just nothing mattered as much as this. Them, together. 

They pulled from their list of favorites, for a long, slow, gradual, teasing session of taking each other to the brink, then holding back, until they were both nearly mad with desire and pent up release. Not having been able to touch like they usually did, not having been able to be as loud as they normally were, all of it had been building, swelling to such a point that they hadn’t fully realized until the moment they both came apart, and it was blessedly familiar and so totally them, and yet Steve couldn’t help but think that it did, actually, feel just a little bit  _brand new_. 

And maybe it was the rings, maybe that piece of paper they’d signed, maybe standing in a circle of family had invoked some ancient magical properties, or maybe it was just something about New Jersey. Steve wasn’t really sure it mattered. It was them, and it was forever, and everything else was now connected through this, through _them_. And that was absolutely perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (.... And just the ziti to go! Tomorrow, with any luck! In the meantime, I will not see this week's episode until Saturday at the soonest, so shhhh, as usual, thanks! :-)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn’t get this posted yesterday, but when I tell you it was because I started working on part three of the [Alaska AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12700800/chapters/28961145), I think maybe some of you won’t mind too much.....

In the morning they awoke to the bustle of activity downstairs, and Danny got up and locked the door, then climbed back in bed. Pressing Steve into the mattress, Danny shushed him while making it very difficult for Steve to not make noise, and it swiftly turned into a contest of them each trying to make the other too loud, until the house grew quiet again. Once they heard cheerful sounds of breakfast out in the yard, they stopped trying to stay silent. 

When Danny’s stomach grew nearly as loud as his moans had been, they dressed and headed first for coffee, then to the back, where no fewer than three types of coffee cake were on offer, along with fresh fruit and yogurt and juices. The kids were setting up lawn games for the evening’s activities... horseshoes and a beanbag toss thing as well as something with a ladder-like frame and things on strings. 

Danny moved his chair as they sat, so close to Steve, he was tempted to say Danny might as well sit in his lap. It was as though, now they were official, Danny was determined to make up for any distance he’d been keeping between them. He used their closeness as an excuse to feed Steve bites of alternating flavors of the coffee cakes, trying to get him to pick a favorite. When Steve insisted he liked Danny’s own recipe best, Eddie nodded in approval. 

“Yep, he’s good. This one’s a keeper, son.” 

“Don’t you still use dad’s recipe for coffee cake, honey?” Clara asked.

And they all laughed. 

Later, after they’d restocked on beverages, Steve and Danny took the kids back to the park, while Clara and Eddie got a break—and no doubt a nap. 

They walked, after, to the local deli where Steve was utterly overwhelmed by sandwich options, shaking his head in bewilderment over the sheer quantity of meat possibilities. Grace and Danny once more confabbed over the order, this time with Sophie’s valuable input, and they ended up with an assortment of sandwiches, before heading home. 

They sat again downstairs while they ate, and watched videos Grace had taken at the zoo, around the house, during their time at the Shore, and the night before... at their wedding. There were sweet moments and funny moments, and it struck Steve, as it sometimes does when you see yourself from an outside perspective, that he hadn’t really known just how obviously in love with Danny he looked. Even better was seeing when Danny stopped feeling like he needed to hide it. 

“Can I get copies of all these, Grace?” He whispered when it was over and everyone was helping to clean up. 

“Already sent you the link—don’t worry, it’s private.” And she kissed him on the cheek, adding softly, “ _Dad_.”

Before too long it was time to get ready for the extended family to start arriving. Bridget was the first to show up, with clothes for Sophie to change into... and Ted. He’d gotten back in town from a business trip late the night before, and Steve understood why Clara had offered to keep Sophie. He couldn’t imagine how hard it was to have a partner who traveled so much for work. But they looked flushed and content, and from Danny’s reaction they must have seemed happier than they had in a while, so maybe things were improving on that front. Steve found himself hoping so—he felt this strong desire for everyone to be happy, for everyone to have someone. Especially now. Now that he had Danny.

And speaking of, and maybe she’d done it out of solidarity with her brother, or maybe she’d simply been encouraged by their new-found openness, but it turned out that Stella had in fact been seeing someone. And she brought her that evening—very clearly as her date and not in the least construable as  _just a friend_. 

“You could have told us,” Danny insisted, openly admiring his sister’s taste in women. Steve would have reminded his husband of his recent change in relationship status, but he had to admit, Stella’s girlfriend was seriously gorgeous. 

“I wanted yesterday to be all about you guys. Besides. You can get to know her when we come visit you this winter?” She was fishing for a tropical escape, once Jersey was buried under feet of snow. It was a service Steve would be more than happy to provide.

“We’d love that,” Steve replied, not even bothering to check with Danny. It earned him a kiss, one on each cheek—from each sibling. So that was nice. But it also kind of reminded him of his own sister... and that she still didn’t know. Which Danny of course instantly picked up on.

“We’ll invite Mary and Joanie, babe,” Danny whispered. “Just as soon as we’re home and settled. Okay?”

Steve gave Danny’s hand, which had slipped into his own, a soft squeeze, and he felt the ring there, and let his fingers play with it. “I love this,” he whispered in turn, bringing Danny’s ring hand up to his mouth to kiss the gunmetal colored band. “ _Seal gray_. Perfect.” 

And then they were swept up in the arrival of so many family members, Steve knew he’d never keep track.

Eddie had foreseen just such an eventuality, however, and had grabbed a roll of extra-wide masking tape and a sharpie and was walking around labeling people, not just by name, but by relation to Danny. It turned into something of a game, and maybe that was on purpose, because it distracted slightly from any tension or awkwardness that might have arisen from Steve’s own label. 

So much for letting the rings speak for themselves. 

Florence and Albert turned up (though without any of the other elders) in spite of having said it was too late in the evening for them to be out, and the position of solid respect they held was obvious. And maybe they had made the rounds, wielding insight or possibly threats, because even people who Danny’d given Steve a heads up to be careful around seemed to have been swept away on some sort of tide of—well, he didn’t want to call it  _enlightened civility_ , so maybe just  _recognized humanity_?

One of them surprised Steve by admiring his ring. 

“That’s one of those safety rings, right? I’ve thought about getting one, as I’m forever misplacing my wedding band when I take it off to do my woodwork.”

Steve told him about the shop, which Jim was familiar with, because he was a keen kayaker and they were the best kayak shop in the area. 

They wound up talking about paddle boarding and surfing, and then skydiving.... And when Steve was later cornered by a petite blonde who nonetheless seemed as though she was perfectly capable of kicking his ass, she said: “So it’s you I have to blame for Jim wanting to take up skydiving now, is it?” But she mostly wanted to see his ring, and she smiled when he lifted his hand to show her. 

“Blue like Danny’s eyes, right?”

“No one’s guessed that, actually, but yeah.”

“Yep, you’ll be just fine in the swirling mass of this family,” she grinned, and tucked her arm in his. “If you can surf, you can do this.”

“Do you surf?” He asked. 

“No, but I’ve always wanted to learn....”

“We’re going to have a lot of visitors, aren’t we?” Danny asked Steve at some point later in the cocktail portion of the evening, just before the baked ziti was served. “You’ve befriended more half of them already, and I think a solid third of those have crushes on you.” 

Steve tugged Danny closer. “I’d have put up with a lot for you, my love. But most of them are really sweet. Just like you.”

“ _Oh my god shut up_.”

But Danny didn’t get any further, like maybe  _making_  Steve shut up, because a tall redhead walked slowly over, two fresh glasses of wine in her outstretched hands, as though in a peace offering. Her resemblance to Lois was striking. Handing them each a glass, she smiled warmly, but uncertainly. 

“I just wanted to apologize for mom. She, ah... she’s got her head firmly up her ass, but we’re looking into treatment options.” 

Steve chuckled, and held out his hand. “I’m Steve. As you can tell, from the name tag.”

“Melissa,” she sighed. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you didn’t want to know me.”

“Hey, kiddo,” Danny pulled her into a one armed hug, very solidly  _not_  letting go his hold on Steve, which pleased Steve very much. “We are not responsible for our parents’ actions, Lissa, or we’d  _all_  be in trouble.”

“Mmm, still. I feel like I ought to be doing more to... bring her into this century.”

“Mom seems to think this will help.” Danny waved around the living room full of family, all having a perfectly lovely time, regardless of the orientations of several people present.

She grinned. “Florence and Albert coming out definitely helps.”

Steve and Danny turned back to Melissa with their mouths just a little bit open. 

“Didn’t they tell you? They’ve been making their way through the whole family, pointing out that everyone loves Mable’s famous peanut butter fudge, and if they want the recipe when Florence dies, they’d better wake up. Or words to that effect.” 

While most people rushed to get the ziti once Clara set it out, Danny and Steve hung back, and so they saw, as the living room cleared out and people settled on the sun porch or out at a table in the yard, Florence and Albert sitting on the sofa, toasting each other with two small cordial glasses of something murky and almost luminescent. 

“Absinthe, my dears, would you like some? It’s legal again, you know.” She held out a bottle of the verdant liquor. 

“We’re not driving, don’t worry,” Albert clarified. “And we will behave. It’s just, we never really thought we’d—how do you young people say it?  _Come out of the closet_. And we felt like celebrating.”

Danny kneeled in front of his great aunt and uncle. “You really didn’t have to....” But he wasn’t able to finish the sentence, partly because he was choking up, partly because Florence looked at him like he was sweet but totally missing the point. “Thank you,” he muttered, then fell silent, easing himself into a sitting position as Steve sat on the floor beside him and wrapped an arm around him. 

“Dear heart, we should be thanking you. If nothing else, it’ll give our little group something to talk about besides bagels and pizza and the Jets, and really, it’s probably about time.”

“We’re thinking of starting a...” Albert closed his eyes in concentration and slowly spelled it out: “L...G...B...T...Q club at the home. It might be too late for some, but it won’t be for all. Worth the attempt, don’t you think?”

Steve grinned. Remembering Deb’s end of life grasp at joy, he nodded. “Absolutely.”

Danny offered to get plates of food for Florence and Albert, but they insisted they’d had more than enough baked ziti for one lifetime, though if there was anything for dessert....

There was far more than enough for dessert it turned out, as basically everyone had brought something, so Steve helped Danny put together a tray of black and white cookies, prune cake, and a couple things Steve didn’t recognize, and took it back to the living room. 

“You boys had better go mingle,” Albert said, as he selected one of the unfamiliar pastries. “We’ll be out in a bit to challenge the young ones to horseshoes. I’m glad things are changing, but that’s one thing I’ve been openly good at for several decades, and it’s one thing I think the kids can’t beat me at.  _Yet_.” Albert winked at Steve and he made a note to steer clear of the horseshoes.

Letting Danny lead him through the line of food, Steve held on to him when they reached the ziti. 

“You promised....”

“So I did.”

And no one was left in the dining room, so maybe Danny went a little overboard, but it sure seemed to Steve that the kiss had  _at least_  the same heat as the one when Danny’d promised him a public kiss over pasta. Albert wolf whistled from the living room, but no one else noticed them. And Steve didn’t mind in the least.

“It’s okay that some things are just for me. Like this. And like how lucky I am to have a whole huge family now.”

“Don’t say that till you’ve tried the ziti, babe,” Danny whispered, kissing him again, and they went outside to find a spot to eat. 

Albert did in fact kick all the young ones’ asses in horseshoes, and Grace showed him how to keep score in an app she downloaded. Stella provided music again, though it was a more sedate and crooner-heavy playlist, and many of the aunts and uncles danced. Steve wondered if there was a place on Oahu he and Danny could learn to dance properly, or if maybe he needed to find a place here, and they could take a couple lessons when they came back for Christmas—because they were absolutely coming back for Christmas. Though he had yet to mention the idea to his husband.

Later, when about half the family had gone home, and Steve and Danny were sitting on the back steps, watching the stragglers still dancing, and eating slices of prune cake which really wasn’t as awful as it sounded, Danny set his plate aside and slid his arm through Steve’s, pulling him in, wanting him closer—maybe for warmth, as this far from the fire it was chilly, maybe for comfort, or maybe to remind him he was his now. Officially. Permanently. 

But also, Danny remembered something Steve had nearly forgotten:

“Thank you, babe, for a perfect first date.” 

It had gotten lost in all this, that the trip had been Steve’s idea for their first official date. Danny looked up at Steve, a mischievous expression playing on his lips. 

“So, what I want to know is, where are we going for our second date?”

Steve grinned. “How about home?” 

Danny smiled and kissed him. “ _Perfect_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, kids, that’s it.... _For now_. 
> 
> Several of you have said you’d like to see them back in Hawaii, the reactions of the team, and the wedding celebration there (and more stuffed animals).... And I'm feeling way to fond of this 'verse to be ready to let it go just yet... so we will see what happens, but I suspect this isn’t the last....


End file.
